MEMOIR 


OF 


ET.  EEV.  JAMES  HEEVEY  OTET,  D,D,,  LLJ)., 


TEE  FIRST  BISHOP  OF  TENNESSEE. 


BY 


RT.  REV.  WILLIAM  MERCER  GREEN,  D.D., 

»r 

BISHOP   OF  MISSISSIPPI. 


NEW  YORK: 
JAMES    POTT    AND    COMPANY. 

1885. 


TO  THE   KEADEK. 


THE  following  Memoir  was  not  written  for  the  eye  of  the 
critic,  but  for  the  hearts  of  the  surviving  children  and  the 
old  friends  of  Tennessee's  first  and  great  Bishop. 

The  reader  will  find  in  it  no  record  of  hair-breadth  escapes, 
splendid  achievements,  or  incidents  of  romance. 

It  is  a  simple  tribute  of  friendship,  a  heart-felt  memorial 
of  a  noble  frontier  Bishop,  one  of  the  great  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  American  Catholic  Church. 

It  has  been  the  writer's  endeavor  neither  to  extenuate 
what  was  amiss,  nor  indulge  in  any  unmerited  eulogy ;  but 
to  present  a  plain  transcript  of  the  life  and  labors  of  one  of 
whom  the  Church,  as  well  as  the  world,  knows  too  little,  — 
or,  in  other  words,  to  make  a  photograph-likeness  of  his  sub- 
ject, setting  it  in  a  plain  frame,  and  hanging  it  in  a  clear 
light. 

As  for  fine  writing,  or  flourish  of  style,  it  would  have 
been  as  unsuited  to  the  writer,  now  in  his  eighty-eighth 
year,  as  to  the  noble  character  which  he  was  seeking  to 
portray. 

Thankful  would  he  be  if  what  is  here  written  in  memory 
of  the  dead  shall  in  any  wise  benefit  the  living,  by  cheering 
the  missionary  in  his  lonely  labors,  by  forwarding  the  cause 
of  Christian  education,  or  by  assuring  the  young  setter-out 
in  life  that  sooner  or  later  there  will  come  a  reward  for  the 
true  in  heart  and  the  patient  in  well-doing. 

W.  M.  G. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

MEMOIR 1 

APPENDIX 149 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  BISHOP'S  DIARY         ....  151 

EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS 170 

ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 188 

LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  COXE      .        .  350 


MEMOIR  OF  BISHOP  OTEY. 


THE  county  of  Bedford  in  Virginia,  lying  at  the  east- 
ern foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  overlooked  by  the 
Peaks  of  Otter,  if  without  any  other  claim  to  distinc- 
tion, may  well  boast  of  having  been  the  birthplace  of 
two  of  the  best  and  best-beloved  Bishops  of  the  Amer- 
ican Church.  The  memory  of  OTEY  and  COBBS  will  be 
fondly  cherished  by  its  citizens,  long  after  the  genera- 
tion which  once  knew  them  shall  have  passed  away. 

Of  the  late  Bishop  of  Alabama,  Nicholas  H.  Cobbs,  it 
is  hoped  that  some  pen  equal  to  the  task  will  yet  make 
a  record  of  his  saintly  life,  and  of  his  well-known  devo- 
tion to  the  duties  of  his  holy  calling. 

The  following  Memoir  is  offered  as  an  affectionate 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  Tennessee's  first  and  great 
Bishop,  by  one  who  knew  him  well,  and  loved  him  with 
more  than  a  brother's  love.  Through  fear  of  having 
any  features  of  this  portrait  set  down  to  a  blind  partial- 
ity, the  reader  will  find  that  the  larger  part  of  it  has 
been  given  in  extracts  from  the  Bishop's  diary,  in  the 
affecting  letters  of  his  own  children,  and  in  the  ready 
vouchers  of  friends  and  brethren  of  every  degree. 

The  Oteys,  on  both  sides  of  the  house,  were  of  a 


2  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

good  old  English  stock.  The  grandfather  of  the  Bishop 
was  a  valiant  soldier  in  the  war  of  '76.  When  the 
British  had  obtained  possession  of  the  Pamunkey  Biver, 
he  raised  a  company  at  his  own  expense,  and  captured 
one  of  their  boats  ;  refusing,  after  the  war,  all  offers  of 
reward  or  remuneration.  The  Bishop's  father,  Isaac 
Otey,  was  a  well-to-do  farmer,  from  whom  he  inherited 
those  sterling  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  that  have 
distinguished  so  many  of  Virginia's  sons  in  both  peace 
and  war.  He  was  careful  to  instil  into  his  children  a 
high  sense  of  honor,  and  a  stern  regard  to  moral  prin- 
ciple. The  Bishop's  mother  was  a  Matthews,  of  a 
gentle  and  amiable  disposition,  and  disposed  rather  to 
indulge  her  children.  His  father  was  of  sterner  stuff, 
but  not  without  a  tender  consideration  for  the  weak- 
nesses of  childhood  and  youth.1  The  name  of  Isaac 
Otey  may  be  found  for  thirty  years  on  the  Legislative 
Journals  of  Virginia,  as  a  representative  of  Bedford 
County  ;  and  to  his  further  credit  it  may  be  added,  that 
his  repeated  elections  were,  for  the  most  part,  without 
opposition. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  James  Hervey,  was  one  of 
the  younger  sons  in  a  family  of  twelve  children ;  and 

1  The  following  incident,  related  to  the  author  by  the  Bishop,  will  illus- 
trate the  difference :  — 

"One  morning,  when  I  was  in  my  sixteenth  year,  I  remarked  at  the 
breakfast-table  that  I  had  been  kept  awake  during  the  night  by  a  pain  in 
my  breast.  My  dear  mother  heaved  a  deep-drawn  sigh,  and  looked  implor- 
ingly at  my  father,  who  said  not  a  word  at  the  time.  But  when  breakfast 
was  over  he  said,  'James,  I  shall  have  to  send  away  my  "striker"  for 
awhile:  step  down  to  my  blacksmith-shop  to-day,  and  strike  till  he  gets 
back.'  It  was  three  weeks  before  I  was  relieved  of  the  shop.  The  cure  was 
most  effectual." 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Qtey.  3 

was  born  on  the  27th  of  January,  1800.  "Hervey" 
was  not  a  family  name ;  but,  about  the  time  of  his  birth, 
the  works  of  that  English  writer  were  more  read  than 
at  present.  Their  florid  and  highly  decorated  style  had 
such  charms  for  the  uncultivated  taste  of  his  parents, 
as  to  cause  them  to  give  his  name  to  that  child,  who,  in 
time,  was  to  endow  it  with  so  much  honor. 

In  his  early  boyhood,  James  was  sent,  in  company 
with  his  brothers  and  sisters,  to  an  "  old-field  school,"  a 
short  distance  from  their  home.  In  due  time  he  was 
transferred  or  elevated  to  an  academy  in  New  London, 
the  county-town  of  Bedford,  and  the  scene  of  those 
magnificent  speeches  of  Patrick  Henry,  of  which  we 
are  told  in  the  no  less  magnificent  language  of  Wirt. 
The  instruction  here  given  him,  though  not  extensive 
in  its  range,  was  thorough  in  its  character.  He  early 
evinced  a  studious  and  inquiring  disposition,  being  an 
eager  and  attentive  listener  to  the  simple  and  honest  coun- 
sels of  his  father,  and  sharing  with  him  in  the  popular 
discussions  of  the  day.  At  that  time  the  wars  of  Napo- 
leon were  the  current  topics  of  the  village  schoolboy, 
as  well  as  of  the  minister  in  his  cabinet.  The  boy's 
young  mind  was  fired  with  ambitious  views  of  distinc- 
tion, but  without  any  definite  aim.  To  his  enthusiastic 
imagination,  Napoleon  was  the  embodiment  of  his  high- 
est conceptions  of  human  greatness  ;  and,  doubtless, 
formed  in  him  an  unconscious  resolve  to  win  for  himself 
some  one  or  other  of  the  prizes  of  life.  His  father, 
seeing  this  laudable  ambition,  resolved,  even  at  much 
sacrifice,  to  give  him  further  advantages.  Accordingly, 
in  his  sixteenth  year  he  was  sent  to  the  University  of 


4  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

North  Carolina,  at  that  time  the  most  distinguished 
institution  of  the  kind  in  the  South.  His  appearance 
on  entering  college  was,  for  a  time,  a  subject  for  quiz- 
zical remark  among  "  the  boys."  He  was  then  full  six 
feet  in  height,  and  ungainly  in  his  movements.  His 
clothing  looked  as  if  his  own  dear  mother  had  been  his 
chief  tailor.  He  had  a  keen  dark  eye,  a  complexion 
made  up  of  the  ruddy  and  the  brown,  with  straight  and 
coal-black  hair,  and  the  striding  gait  of  a  true  son  of 
the  forest.  No  wonder,  then,  that  he  was  soon  dubbed 
with  the  nickname  of  "  Cherokee."  But,  notwith- 
standing these  external  disadvantages,  there  was  noth- 
ing of  the  vulgar  about  him.  His  look  and  features 
were  such  as  any  generous  heart  would  at  once  be  inter- 
ested in.  Though  not  a  Chesterfield  in  manner,  he  was 
far  from  being  an  unmannerly  lout.  In  a  very  short 
time  he  gained  the  respect  and  affection  of  his  instruc- 
tors as  well  as  his  schoolfellows.  Throughout,  his 
whole  college  course  was  remarkable  for  his  love  of 
reading  and  for  his  strict  obedience  to  law  and  order. 
Though  caring  but  little  for  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class,  he  was  indefatigable  in  storing  his  mind  with  the 
choicest  treasures  of  ancient  and  modern  learning. 
Whilst  the  "  first-honor  men "  were  wrestling  with  the 
paradigms  of  their  Greek  and  Latin  exercises,  he  was 
turning  the  pages  of  Addison  and  Burke  and  Johnson, 
or  revelling  in  the  wider  field  of  history,  biography,  and 
poetry.  His  intervals  of  study  were  spent  in  genial 
intercourse  with  chosen  friends,  or  whiled  away  in  the 
companionship  of  his  violin,  an  instrument  on  which 
he  was  no  ordinary  performer,  and  to  which  he  was 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  5 

indebted  for  many  alleviating  and  consolatory  moments 
in  his  subsequent  life.  It  is  with  a  mournful  pleasure 
that  the  writer  recalls  the  many  evening  walks,  which, 
arm-in-arm,  he  then  enjoyed  with  this  dear  friend  whom 
he  is  endeavoring  to  portray. 

One  peculiarity,  or  infirmity,  of  my  dear  schoolmate 
at  this  time,  I  well  remember.  It  was  his  fear  of  light- 
ning. Although  sufficiently  bold  and  self-reliant  on 
other  occasions,  he  was  so  completely  unmanned  at  the 
approach  of  a  thunder-cloud,  that  a  visible  paleness  and 
tremor  would  seize  him.  It  is  only  since  the  writer 
began  this  Memoir,  that  he  has  learned  from  the  Eev. 
Dr.  Wheat  the  following  amusing  incident,  which  fully 
accounts  for  this  idiosyncrasy  in  the  subject  of  our 
story. 

"  I  was  one  day  [says  the  Doctor]  accompanying  the  Bishop 
in  a  round  of  visits  to  my  parishioners  (Christ  Church,  Nash- 
ville) ,  when  a  sudden  summer  shower  came  upon  us.  I  raised  my 
umbrella  to  shelter  the  Bishop ;  but  he  immediately  thrust  it  aside, 
for  fear,  as  he  said,  it  might  attract  the  lightning.  He  afterwards 
explained  to  me,  that  he  had  had,  from  early  childhood,  an  uncon- 
trollably nervous  dread  of  lightning,  caused  by  an  incident  which 
he  thus  related  with  some  merriment :  — 

"  4  One  day  my  mother  sent  me  to  bring  under  shelter,  from  an 
approaching  thunder-shower,  a  hen  with  a  brood  of  young  chickens. 
In  driving  them  along,  I  had  to  pass  by  the  side  of  a  high  rail- 
fence,  very  open  at  the  bottom.  Through  this  opening  the  hen 
would  pass  backward  and  forward,  compelling  me  as  often  to 
climb  the  fence  after  her.  She  had  performed  this  feat  three 
times ;  m}r  patience  was  well-nigh  exhausted  ;  the  thunder  growled 
fearfully,  and  there  came  a  heavy  down-pouring  of  rain.  As  the 
old  hen  was  about  to  pass  once  more  through  the  fence,  I  threw 
my  stick  at  her,  exclaiming  in  my  rage,  "  Consarn  you  I"  Just 


6  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

as  I  uttered  these  words,  I  was  dazed  by  a  blinding  flash  of  light- 
ning, accompanied  by  a  crashing  volley  of  heaven's  artilleiy.  I 
left  the  hen  and  chickens  to  their  fate,  fled  in  the  greatest  terror 
to  the  house,  and  crept  under  a  bed  in  the  darkest  corner  of  the 
room,  endeavoring  to  shut  out  the  sound  of  what  seemed  to  me 
the  terrible  voice  of  God,  rebuking  me  for  my  profanity.' ' 

In  June,  1820,  he  completed  his  college  course ;  and 
for  the  variety  as  well  as  correctness  of  his  attainments 
received  the  degree  of  "  Bachelor  in  Belles  Lettres,"  a 
distinction  unknown  till  then  in  the  annals  of  that  insti- 
tution. Here  may  be  seen  the  foundation  laid  for  that 
clear,  vigorous,  and  correct  style,  which  ever  after  marked 
the  productions  of  the  Bishop's  pen. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation,  he  was  appointed 
to  a  tutorship  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  that  college,  and 
thus  had  the  opportunity  of  advancing  himself  still 
further  in  the  knowledge  of  those  important  languages. 
One  part  of  his  tutorial  duty  was  to  hold  prayers  in  the 
college-chapel  every  morning,  just  after  daylight.  This 
was  to  him  a  new  and  most  irksome  exercise.  However 
willing  he  might  have  been  to  offer  up  his  devotions  at 
his  bedside,  this  call  to  act  in  public,  as  a  leader  or 
spokesman  for  others,  was  a  trial  of  no  ordinary  kind. 
For  a  while  he  stumbled  through  the  performance  with 
no  degree  of  improvement,  and  with  less  and  less  satis- 
faction to  himself.  At  length  a  kind  lady  friend  pointed 
his  attention  to  the  Prayer-Book,  and  presented  him  a 
copy.  Here  indeed  was  a  treasure-house  opened  to  him ; 
prayers  short,  pithy,  and  suited  to  every  purpose  and 
condition,  —  the  very  thing  that  he  had  been  longing 
for.  Never  before  had  he  seen  any  thing  like  it. 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  1 

Here  let  it  be  observed  that  his  parents,  though  es- 
teemed and  honored  by  all,  were  members  of  no  Chris- 
tian denomination ;  and  that  the  Episcopal  Church  was, 
at  that  day,  least  of  all  known  and  esteemed  in  that  part 
of  Virginia.  His  acquaintance  with  this  book  formed 
an  eventful  era  in  his  life.  The  more  he  became  famil- 
iar with  its  contents,  the  higher  and  more  fervent  was 
his  admiration  for  the  soundness  of  its  doctrines,  the 
spirituality  of  its  prayers,  and  its  admirable  fitness  for 
all  the  purposes  of  public  or  private  devotion.  From 
that  time  he  became  what  till  the  day  of  his  death  he 
delighted  to  be  called,  —  a  "  Prayer-Book  Churchman." 

On  the  13th  of  October,  1821,  he  married  Miss  Eliza 
D.  Pannill,  a  blooming  daughter  of  the  family  with 
whom  he  had  been  boarding.  The  Pannills  were  from 
Petersburg,  Va.,  a  name  of  long  standing  and  of  the 
highest  respectability,  but,  like  many  others  of  that  day, 
of  decayed  fortune. 

Very  soon  after  his  marriage,  he  removed  to  Maury 
County,  Tennessee,  and  was  opening  a  school  for  boys, 
near  the  town  of  Franklin,  when  he  was  induced  to 
return  to  North  Carolina,  and  take  the  academy  at  War- 
renton,  which  was  just  passing  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Rev.  George  W.  Freeman.  While  there  engaged,  he 
was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  William  Mercer  Green,  then 
in  charge  of  that  parish ;  and,  soon  after,  confirmed  by 
Bishop  Ravenscroft.  On  the  10th  of  October,  1825,  he 
received  the  Diaconate,  and  June  7,  1827,  the  Office  of 
Priest,  at  the  hands  of  the  same  great  Bishop.  Being 
thus  invested  with  a  full  priestly  commission,  he  set  out 
again  for  the  distant  and  less-cultivated  field  of  Ten- 


8  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

nessee,  and  established  himself  in  the  town  of  Franklin, 
eighteen  miles  south  of  Nashville.  For  a  long  time,  the 
only  place  for  worship  that  could  be  found  for  himself 
and  his  little  flock,  was  the  lower  room  of  a  Masonic 
Lodge.1  But,  humble  as  that  was,  it  may  piously  and 
thankfully  be  looked  back  to,  as  the  birthplace  and  the 
cradle  of  a  Diocese  now  rejoicing  in  its  strength. 

On  re-opening  his  school  in  Tennessee,  Mr.  Otey  in- 
dulged the  sanguine  hope  that  he  was  thus  beginning, 
though  in  a  feeble  way,  a  long  and  dearly  cherished 
scheme  of  his,  in  which  religious  instruction  was  to  go 
hand  in  hand  with  the  every-day  lessons  of  the  school- 
room. Here,  for  eight  years,  his  time  was  divided  be- 
tween the  labors  of  the  pedagogue  and  the  pastor  and 
the  missionary.  And  dearly  cherished  to  this  day,  by 
the  aged  denizens  of  that  village,  is  the  memory  of  that 
young  Minister  who  instructed  both  old  and  young  in 
many  lessons  profitable  to  both  their  temporal  and  eter- 
nal good.  In  that  school  there  was  one  boy  of  whom 
the  Bishop  was,  ever  after,  justly  proud;  viz.,  the  re- 
nowned scientist  Matthew  F.  Maury.  Nor  was  it  less 
pleasing  to  him  to  remember  that  among  his  pupils 
in  Warrenton,  there  were  two  brothers,  Braxton  and 
Thomas  Bragg ;  the  one  in  after-life  a  distinguished 
general  of  the  Confederate  army,  the  other  a  conspicu- 
ous member  of  the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Davis.  And  it  was  a 
heartfelt  satisfaction  to  him,  to  see  how  these  three  boys, 

1  Mr.  Otey  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  and  after- 
wards attained  its  highest  degree.  He  admired  the  beauty  of  its  ritual  and 
the  purity  of  its  precepts,  but  regarded  the  whole  system  as  a  mere  reflection 
of  the  brighter  sunlight  of  the  Gospel. 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  9 

in  after-days,  adorned  their  well-deserved  honors  with 
the  higher  distinction  of  a  Christian  life. 

The  education  of  youth  was  always,  to  the  Bishop,  a 
subject  of  the  deepest  concern ;  and,  during  the  whole 
of  his  ministry,  he  endeavored  to  awaken  and  keep  alive 
an  interest  in  the  establishing  of  both  male  and  female 
schools.  Tennessee,  when  he  first  entered  it,  was  the 
abode  of  the  pioneer  and  the  hardy  backwoodsman,  who 
looked  with  contempt  upon  learning  and  refinement,  es- 
pecially in  connection  with  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel. 
The  services  of  the  Church  were  something  so  strange 
to  them,  that  the  Bishop  would  afterwards  illustrate  it 
by  telling  what  one  of  these  rude  sons  of  the  forest  was 
once  heard  to  say  to  another :  "  Come,  let  us  go  and 
hear  that  man  preach,  and  his  wife  jaw  back  at  him," — 
alluding  to  the  responses  made  by  Mrs.  Otey,  who  was 
oftentimes  the  only  respondent  in  the  congregation. 

The  Church  in  Tennessee  was  a  "  little  one  "  indeed, 
when  Mr.  Otey  determined  to  make  that  State  the  field 
of  his  lifelong  labors.  There  was  but  one  Clergyman 
within  its  wide  borders  ;  viz.,  Eev.  John  Davis  (Deacon), 
who  had  been  sent  there  by  a  Missionary  Society  at  the 
North,  and  was  feebly  laboring  amidst  a  world  of  obsta- 
cles. Mr.  Otey  soon  saw  that  help  must  be  obtained,  if 
the  Church  was  ever  to  have  a  name  and  be  a  power  in 
accomplishing  the  work  so  much  needed  in  this  portion 
of  the  Lord's  vineyard.  Especially  was  there  demand 
for  some  one  fully  authorized  to  give  form  and  consist- 
ency to  the  work,  and  to  set  in  order  the  little  that  had 
already  been  done.  But  where  and  to  whom  should  he 
look  I  If  there  was  any  one  man  whom  Mr.  Otey  ad- 


10  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

mired  above  all  others,  that  man  was  Bishop  Ravens- 
croft,  by  whom  he  had  been  ordained,  and  by  whose 
advice  he  had  come  to  Tennessee.  To  him,  therefore, 
he  appealed  so  strongly,  that  in  1829  that  noble  Bishop, 
in  spite  of  rough  roads  and  failing  health,  undertook 
the  task  of  visiting  that  Western  field.  His  coming  was 
hailed  with  joy  by  that  little  flock  and  its  struggling 
pastor,  for  the  fame  of  his  commanding  ability  and 
earnest  piety  had  preceded  him.  His  stay  was  necessa- 
rily short ;  but  its  effect  was  memorable  in  giving  an 
impulse  and  a  direction  to  the  affairs  of  the  Church  at 
that  time,  which  is  felt  to  the  present  day.  Under  his 
guidance  and  assistance,  the  very  few  Ministers  and 
members  of  the  Church  were  organized  into  a  Diocese, 
in  Nashville,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1829.  He  preached 
several  times,  and  a  number  were  confirmed.  In  his 
journal  he  speaks  with  gratitude  of  the  hospitality  of 
Dr.  Shelby  and  Mr.  Francis  B.  Fogg;  and  adds,  "During 
my  short  stay  in  Nashville,  I  was  greatly  delighted  and 
encouraged  by  the  interest  manifested  among  the  mem- 
bers and  friends  of  the  Church,  for  the  advancement  of 
religion,  and  the  attainment  of  regular  and  fixed  ser- 
vices." The  Bishop  visited  the  little  congregation  in 
Franklin,  and  confirmed  several  of  them.  He  says  in 
his  journal,  "  I  found  here,  very  clearly,  the  value  of 
Mr.  Otey's  services  to  the  Church  and  religion,  notwith- 
standing he  is  confined  and  encumbered  with  the  charge 
of  an  academy." 

In  1830  the  Church  in  Tennessee  was  visited  by 
Bishop  Meade  of  Virginia,  and  in  that  year  was  held  its 
first  Diocesan  Convention.  Of  the  visit  of  Bishop  Ives, 
in  1831,  no  record  can  be  found. 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  1 1 

It  was  in  1831  that  Mr.  Otey  was  made  to  feel  the 
first  of  those  family  afflictions  which  pressed  so  hardly 
on  his  tender  and  loving  spirit.  On  the  27th  of  July, 
lleginald  Heber,  his  first-born  son,  a  boy  of  lovely 
promise,  was  consigned  to  the  grave,  in  the  tenth  year 
of  his  age. 

But  the  day  had  arrived  when  this  limited  field  was 
to  be  opened  into  a  wider  sphere,  and  the  humble  and 
patient  labors  of  this  man  of  God  rewarded  by  a  higher 
and  more  holy  office. 

In  1833  there  were,  beside  Mr.  Otey,  but  five  Presby- 
ters and  one  Deacon  in  the  Diocese.  But  so  sorely  was 
felt  the  need  of  a  Bishop  to  complete  their  organization, 
and  respond  to  repeated  calls  for  Episcopal  services,  that 
notice  was  given  for  a  convention  to  meet  in  Franklin 
on  the  27th  of  June,  for  the  election  of  a  Bishop.  The 
following  simple  and  modest  notice  is  taken  from  the 
diary  of  Mr.  Otey :  — 


. . 


JUNE  29.  Convention  proceeded  this  day  to  the  election  of  a 
Bishop.  The  choice  fell  upon  myself,  as  I  received  every  vote  but 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Weller's  and  my  own.  May  the  Lord  be  very  merci- 
ful unto  me,  and  strengthen  me !  Thou  knowest,  O  Lord,  that  I 
feel  myself  unequal  to  the  burthen  of  this  high  and  holy  office  ;  but 
through  thy  grace  I  can  do  all  things  which  thy  wisdom  may  ap- 
point for  me.  Grant,  blessed  Saviour,  that  in  all  things  I  may  be 
faithful  and  diligent,  and  wise  to  win  souls.  And  to  thy  name 
be  all  the  honor  and  praise,  and  glory.  Amen." 

At  a  subsequent  date  he  writes :  — 

"  I  have  received  flattering  evidences  of  the  satisfaction  felt  at 
my  election.  But,  Lord,  do  thou  give  me  an  humble  mind  ;  and 
never  let  such  things  withdraw  my  eyes  from  looking  upon  myself 
as  sinful  dust  and  ashes." 


12  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

The  Presiding  Bishop  appointed  the  time  and  place 
for  his  consecration,  and  summoned  to  his  assistance  the 
Right  Rev.  Henry  U.  Onderdonk,  Right  Rev.  Benjamin 
T.  Onderdonk,  and  the  Right  Rev.  George  W.  Doane. 
Bishop  White  was  the  consecrator,  Bishop  Doane 
preached  the  sermon  (2  Tim.  iv.  1-5),  and  the  other  two 
Bishops  acted  as  presenters.  This  solemn  ceremony 
was  duly  performed  in  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  on 
the  fourteenth  day  of  January,  1834. 

As  Mr.  Otey  had  never,  before  this,  been  north  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  he  saw  on  his  journey  many 
objects  both  new  and  striking.  In  a  letter  to  the  writer, 
soon  after  his  return  home,  he  says,  — 

"  The  most  striking  object  that  I  met  with,  on  the  whole  of  my 
journey,  was  the  venerable  Presiding  Bishop.  I  remembered  at 
the  time,  that  I  heard  you  once  say  that  his  appearance  reminded 
you  of  the  description  which  ancient  writers  give  of  St.  John.  The 
thought  occurred  to  my  recollection,  the  moment  my  e}Te  rested 
upon  the  aged  patriarch  ;  and  a  feeling  of  mingled  awe,  veneration, 
and  affection  predominated  over  every  other  consideration,  in  his 
presence." 

The  reader  must  pardon  another  extract  from  this 
same  letter :  — 

"  I  saw  your  dear  friend  Montgomery  [Rev.  Dr.  James  Montgom- 
ery of  St.  James'  Church,  Philadelphia]  upon  the  bed  of  his  last 
sickness.  He  was  full  of  resignation  and  peace  ;  and  his  affections 
were,  as  warmly  as  ever,  enlisted  in  the  prosperity  of  the  Church 
which  he  loved.  He  grasped  my  hand  in  both  of  his,  with  great 
affection,  and  told  me  he  knew  to  what  school  I  belonged,  kindled 
with  animation  at  the  name  of  Ravenscroft,  and  exhorted  me  to 
follow  in  the  steps  of  that  great  and  good  man." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  1 3 

As  soon  as  his  consecration  was  known,  he  was  invited 
by  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Diocese  of  Mississippi 
to  take  that  Diocese  also  under  his  charge.  Immedi- 
ately after  his  return,  finding  the  field  of  his  labors  thus 
providentially  enlarged,  he  set  about  devising  plans  for 
the  more  general  good  of  the  Diocese. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  preaching  of  the  pure 
Word  of  God,  there  dwelt  in  the  breast  of  Bishop  Otey 
an  earnest  desire  to  promote  the  cause  of  Christian 
education.  In  his  frequent  and  fatiguing  rides  through 
his  own  and  the  adjacent  dioceses,  he  witnessed  such  an 
amount  of  ignorance  and  prejudice,  and  such  mistaken 
views  of  religion,  as  often  to  make  him  groan  in  spirit. 
Preaching,  preaching,  preaching,  was  all  that  even  the 
better  part  of  the  people  seemed  to  care  for.  Worship 
or  prayer  was  hardly  a  secondary  consideration ;  and 
the  ordinances  of  the  Church  were  regarded  as  little 
better  than  signs  of  Church-membership,  or  cloaks,  in 
too  many  cases,  to  cover  up  an  immoral  life.  Each  sect 
gloried  in  its  peculiar  "  shibboleth ;  "  the  brief  and  un- 
digested lessons  of  the  Sunday  school  constituted  the 
chief,  if  not  the  sole,  religious  instruction  of  the  young ; 
and,  with  few  exceptions,  even  the  more  intelligent 
seemed  to  have  lost  sight  of  the  Church  of  Christ  as  a 
Divine  institution,  demanding  an  unquestioning  recep- 
tion of  its  creed  and  ordinances. 

Soon  after  his  consecration,  the  Bishop's  hands  were 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  coming  of  the  Rev.  Leoni- 
das  Polk  into  the  Diocese.  By  this  active  and  zealous 
Clergyman  he  was  largely  aided  in  setting  on  foot  and 
carrying  on  his  many  endeavors  to  advance  the  literary 


14  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

as  well  as  the  religious  interests  of  the  people  of  the 
South-West. 

As  early  as  the  year  1832,  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese  placed  upon  its  Journal  the  following  declara- 
tion :  — 

u  Whereas  this  Convention  is  deeply  sensible  of  the  great  want 
of  Clerg}'men  in  this  Diocese,  and  also  of  the  wants  of  our  sister 
Churches  of  the  Southern  and  South-western  States  generally  ;  And 
whereas  we  believe  that  the  interests  of  this  Church  can  onty  be 
advanced  in  those  sections  of  the  Union,  above  alluded  to,  by  pro- 
viding Ministers  of  piety  and  learning,  to  labor  at  her  destitute 
altars  ;  And,  also,  that  the  cause  of  true  learning  may  be  most 
effectually  promoted  by  providing  for  the  instruction  of  those  who 
are  preparing  for  Holy  Orders  :  Therefore,  — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Convention  pledge  themselves,  if  funds 
can  be  obtained,  to  establish,  at  some  eligible  location  in  this  Dio- 
cese, a  Classical  and  Theological  Seminary  of  learning,  in  order,  to 
educate,  or  aid  in  educating,  persons  who  are  desirous  of  obtaining 
Holy  Orders." 

The  Journal  does  not  state  by  whom  these  resolutions 
were  drawn ;  but  they  bear  internal  evidence  that  they 
proceeded  from  the  vigorous  pen  of  Mr.  Otey,  who  in 
the  following  year  was  elected  Bishop  of  the  Diocese. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  his  Episcopate  (June,  1834)  was 
to  bring  this  important  subject  to  the  attention  of  his 
Convention,  then  assembled  in  Columbia.  The  Bishop 
and  Standing  Committee  were  requested  to  devise  such 
plans,  and  take  such  measures,  as  might  lead  to  the 
accomplishment  of  that  object ;  and  report  to  the  next 
Convention.  June,  1835,  the  Convention  met  in  the 
Court-House  at  Jackson.  The  Bishop,  in  his  Address, 
renewed  the  subject;  and  that  part  relating  to  it  was 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  15 

referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Polk 
and  Chilton,  and  Messrs.  Hatch,  T.  Jones,  and  H.  G. 
Smith,  of  which  the  Rev.  Leonidas  Polk  was  chairman. 
The  committee,  in  making  their  report,  expressed  their 
full  approval  of  the  Bishop's  recommendations. 

Before  his  Convention  of  1836,  he  once  more  brings 
up  the  subject,  pressing  it  most  earnestly  on  their  atten- 
tion. The  following  extract  from  his  Address  will  abun- 
dantly show  how  it  had  taken  possession  of  his  thoughts, 
and  of  his  plans  for  the  wide  and  permanent  interests 
of  the  people  of  the  West.  He  had  not  long  returned 
from  the  General  Convention  of  1835,  and  from  his 
first  visitation  of  the  Diocese  of  Mississippi,  when  he 
writes :  — 

."  Connected  with  my  journey  to  the  South-West,  was  an  ardent 
desire  to  forward  an  object  which  has  already  been  a  subject  of 
deliberation  and  advisement  with  you.  I  refer  to  a  projected  plan 
of  a  Literary  and  Theological  Seminary,  to  meet  the  wants  of 
Episcopalians  in  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  and  Louisiana.  It 
was  my  expectation,  when  I  left  home,  that  I  should  be  able  to 
obtain  subscriptions  in  sufficient  amount  to  justify  the  adoption  of 
measures  at  this  Convention,  to  determine  upon  a  site,  and  pro- 
ceed to  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings.  I  have  not  per- 
mitted myself  to  doubt  that  the  assurances  given  me  will  yet  be 
made  good.  And,  that  my  expectations  were  not  realized  last 
winter,  I  am  of  the  deliberate  persuasion  was  owing  to  fortuitous 
circumstances,  as  unforeseen  as  they  were  utterly  beyond  the  con- 
trol of  the  friends  of  the  measure." 

After  briefly  stating  what  these  circumstances  were, 
he  entered  at  some  length  on  the  reasons  which  con- 
vinced him  that  this  measure  should  be  perseveringly 
followed  up,  even  though  under  an  increase  of  present 


16  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

discouragements.  His  argument  was  founded,  first,  on 
the  vast  resources  and  growing  wealth  of  the  people  of 
the  South  and  West,  evincing  that  there  were  means 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  purpose  ;  and,  next,  on  their 
sensible  want  of  such  educational  facilities,  shown  in 
the  sending  of  their  sons  and  daughters  to  be  educated 
at  the  North,  to  the  injury  of  their  health,  and  the 
weakening  of  their  domestic  and  social  ties.  He  then 
showed  that  the  security  and  happiness  of  a  people, 
especially  such  as  we  are,  rest  upon  the  moral  senti- 
ment of  the  community,  more  than  upon  the  nature  of 
its  government  and  laws ;  and  that  nothing  but  the 
combined  force  of  education  and  religion  could  success- 
fully contend  with  the  growing  wickedness  and  lawless- 
ness of  the  people  of  the  South- West. 

He  further  pointed  out  the  inefficiency  of  colleges 
established  by  the  State,  to  give  a  religious  or  even  a 
moral  tone  to  those  whom  they  profess  to  educate ; 
inasmuch  as  they  make  no  provision  for  the  inculcation 
of  Christianity,  but  rather  studiously  shut  it  out  from 
their  curriculum.  In  opposition  to  all  this,  he  ex- 
plained what  was  the  prime  end  and  aim  of  the  projected 
University:  viz.,  to  furnish  the  community  with  an  en- 
lightened and  a  virtuous  class  of  citizens ;  to  supply 
means  for  the  acquisition  of  theological  learning,  to 
Candidates  for  the  Ministry,  at  their  own  homes ;  and, 
also,  to  raise  up  a  corps  of  professional  teachers,  who, 
in  their  turn,  could  impart  like  wholesome  instruction 
to  others.  He  then  brings  his  remarks  to  a  conclu- 
sion by  saying,  — 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  17 

"Upon  a  view  of  the  whole  subject,  I  earnestly  recommend  to 
this  Convention  the  appointment  of  agents  in  this  State,  to  ob- 
tain for  this  object  subscriptions  payable  in  one,  two,  and  three 
years  ;  and,  also,  a  special  agent,  to  visit  the  South- West  country, 
tinder  the  author!  13*  of  this  body,  the  ensuing  fall  and  winter,  for 
a  like  purpose."  1 

A  committee  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Polk,  Muller, 
and  Litton  of  the  Clergy,  and  Messrs.  John  Anderson, 
P.  W.  Alston,  and  S.  P.  Walker  of  the  laity,  was 
appointed  to  report  on  that  portion  of  the  Bishop's 
Address  which  relates  to  education.  The  next  day  we 
find  their  Report,  as  follows,  on  the  twenty-sixth  page 
of  the  Journal :  — 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  so  much  of  the  Bishop's 
Address  having  reference  to  the  establishment  of  a  Literary  and 
Theological  Institution  in  the  Diocese,  respectfully  report,  that  this 
Convention  fully  concurs  in  the  views  expressed  in  said  Address ; 
and  recommends  that  the  Committee  on  Education,  appointed  by 
the  last  Convention,  be  continued,  and  authorized  to  appoint  an 
agent  or  agents,  to  carry  into  effect  the  objects  contemplated,  by 
soliciting  subscriptions,  agreeably  to  the  plan  set  forth  in  the 
printed  circular,  signed  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee. 

L.  POLK,  Chairman.1' 

But  it  was  not  in  his  own  Diocese  only  that  Bishop 
Otey  showed  so  becoming  a  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  reli- 
gious and  literary  improvement  of  his  fellow-countrymen 
and  fellow-Churchmen.  In  this  same  year  (1835)  he 
suggested  and  recommended  to  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese  of  Mississippi,  that  an  "  institution,  on  a  scale 

1  It  cannot  but  be  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  Bishop  Otey,  to  see  him  at 
so  early  a  date  endeavoring  to  lay  a  foundation  for  that  system  of  normal 
instruction  which  is  now  so  largely  contributing  to  the  efficiency  of  our 
schools,  both  public  and  private. 


18  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

sufficiently  enlarged  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  South 
in  regard  to  collegiate  and  theological  education,  be 
founded  and  endowed."  In  a  subsequent  Address  to  the 
Standing  Committee  of  that  Diocese,  he  says, — 

"  In  view  of  the  want  of  Candidates  for  the  Ministry  in  the 
South,  it  strikes  me  as  an  obvious  dictate  of  prudence  and  sound 
policy,  to  provide  in  the  South- West,  as  soon  as  practicable,  for 
the  education  of  young  men  willing  and  in  other  respects  qualified 
to  enter  the  Ministry.  All  that  seems  wanting  is  united  effort, 
and  concerted  and  vigorous  action,  to  found  a  Seminary  which 
might  do  credit  to  our  country,  perpetuate  the  glory  of  our  free 
institutions,  widen  and  strengthen  the  influence  of  Gospel  privi- 
leges, and  extend  the  blessings  of  learning  and  religion  to  our 
children  and  our  children's  children  to  the  latest  generation.'* 

With  a  singular  and  commendable  tenacity  the 
Bishop  adhered  to  this  subject ;  presenting  it  again  and 
again,  in  1836  and  1837,  not  only  to  his  Conventions, 
but  to  every  congregation  of  the  Diocese.  His  great 
sermon  on  "  Christian  Education,"  delivered  before  the 
General  Convention  of  October,  1859,  will  attest  the 
ability  and  zeal  with  which  he  then  and  there  advocated 
this  his  favorite  theme.  (  Vide  sermon,  in  the  Appen- 
dix.) To  his  Convention  in  Nashville,  1835,  he  says,  — 

"Among  the  many  other  interesting  and  important  matters 
which  will  claim  the  attention  of  this  Convention,  I  deem  it  highly 
proper  to  call  up  to  your  notice  the  subject  of  education,  both  as 
it  respects  provision  to  be  made  for  furnishing  to  the  children  of 
Episcopalians,  as  well  as  others  who  desire  it,  proper  facilities  for 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  sciences  usually  taught  in 
colleges,  as  likewise  for  affording  to  those  who  may  become  Candi- 
dates for  Orders,  more  ample  advantages  than  we  can  at  present 
offer.  I  would  willingly  enter  into  a  full  exposition  of  my  views 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  19 

on  this  subject ;  but  the  prevalence  of  one  opinion  onty  among  us, 
as  to  the  expediency  of  such  an  object,  and  the  great  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  such  a  measure,  render  it  perhaps  unneces- 
sar}',  and  would  hardly  justify  my  trespassing  on  your  time  and 
attention.'* 

In  his  journal,  read  to  the  Convention  of  1837,  he 
writes :  — 

"  1836,  OCT.  3.  I  addressed  the  people  of  Bolivar,  at  the  court- 
house, upon  the  subject  of  our  proposed  Literary  and  Theological 
Seminar}'.  Papers  for  subscription  were  left  in  the  hands  of  Major 
Bills  and  Pitzer  Miller." 

"  OCT.  8.  At  La  Grange,  I  addressed  the  people  assembled  in 
the  Methodist  meeting-house,  in  reference  to  our  Seminary ;  and 
Mr.  John  Anderson  was  appointed  to  receive  donations  and  sub- 
scriptions." 

u  OCT.  10.  A  second  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  La  Grange  being 
called,  they  were  addressed  upon  the  subject  of  our  Seminary  by 
Mr.  Potts.  Several  thousand  dollars  were  subscribed,  and  a  num- 
ber of  agents  appointed  to  obtain  subscriptions." 

"  OCT.  12.  At  Somerville,  I  addressed  a  few  persons  at  the 
court-house,  upon  the  subject  of  the  Seminar}'.  Some  subscrip- 
tions were  made,  and  Mr.  George  Smith  was  appointed  to  obtain 
more." 

"  OCT.  31 .  Addressed  the  people  of  Brownsville,  in  behalf  of  the 
Seminary." 

He  then  winds  up  his  journal  by  saying,  — 

"  In  regard  to  the  proposed  Literar3*and  Theological  Seminary, 
I  will  not  sa}T  more  at  present,  in  reference  to  the  establishment  of 
such  an  institution,  than  to  repeat  the  firm  and  deliberate  convic- 
tion, heretofore  expressed,  of  its  absolute  necessity  to  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  Diocese.  The  whole  subject  is  now  again  commended 
to  your  consideration,  dear  brethren,  in  the  full  confidence  that 
your  wisdom  and  prudence  will  direct  you  to  the  measures  most 
proper  to  be  pursued." 


20  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

These  recommendations  were  not  altogether  without 
their  fruit,  although  the  good  attained  was  unseen  at 
the  time.  The  subject  was  stirred  from  time  to  time, 
and  thus  kept  before  the  public  view. 

In  order  the  better  to  effect  his  educational  views,  he 
determined,  in  the  year  following  his  consecration,  to 
remove  to  Columbia ;  and  accordingly,  in  December, 
1835,  took  up  his  residence  within  a  short  distance  of 
that  place.  Here,  as  soon  as  he  was  settled,  he  opened 
a  school  for  boys  in  his  own  house  ;  giving  it  the  name 
of  "  Mercer  Hall,"  in  honor  of  his  friend  and  benefactor, 
Dr.  William  N.  Mercer  of  New  Orleans,  and  devoting 
a  considerable  portion  of  his  time  to  its  instruction. 
Owing  to  a  failure  in  his  health,  and  his  necessarily  re- 
peated absences  from  home,  this  experiment  was  aban- 
doned after  a  trial  of  a  little  more  than  two  years. 

Notwithstanding  this  serious  disappointment,  we  find 
the  heart  of  the  Bishop  still  set  upon  what,  next  to 
Christ  and  His  Gospel,  seemed  to  be  the  goal  of  his 
hopes,  and  the  burthen  of  his  prayers.  During  the  win- 
ter of  1838,  and  much  of  the  following  spring,  the  Bishop 
was  confined  to  his  house  by  a  serious  illness.  But  his 
Diocese  experienced  no  "  lack  of  service ; "  as  the  good 
Bishop  Kemper,  a  man  of  like  godly  spirit,  kindly 
took  upon  him  the  laborious  work  in  the  South  and 
West  which  his  disabled  brother  had  laid  out  for  him- 
self. In  his  Annual  Address  of  that  year,  he  informs 
the  Convention  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wheat  had  resigned 
the  rectorship  of  Christ's  Church,  Nashville,  and  would 
remove  to  Columbia,  to  establish  a  school,  which  he 
(the  Bishop)  hoped,  with  God's  blessing,  might  supply 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  21 

the  immediate  wants  of  the  youth  of  the  Church  in  that 
Diocese  for  their  intellectual  and  religious  training,  and 
as  a  means  of  educating  and  preparing  a  native  and  effi- 
cient Ministry  for  the  South-West.  A  committee  was 
appointed,  with  full  power,  to  carry  on  the  enterprise ;  an 
eligible  lot  of  ground,  of  ten  acres,  near  Columbia,  was 
secured;  and  a  liberal  subscription,  chiefly  from  the 
Polk  family,  obtained  in  a  short  time.  The  school  was 
opened  in  the  fall  of  1838.  The  most  sanguine  hopes 
were  entertained  of  its  permanency  and  success ;  and 
the  good  Bishop  began  to  think  that  here  and  now  was 
securely  to  be  laid  a  firm  foundation  for  his  much-desired 
Seminary  of  religion  and  learning.  A  very  general  in- 
terest began  to  be  felt  in  the  work,  and  many  pledges 
were  given  of  aid  when  it  might  be  called  for.  But, 
alas  !  two  short  years  had  scarcely  passed,  before  it  was 
found  that  the  expenses  of  the  establishment  so  far  ex- 
ceeded its  receipts  as  abruptly  to  close  its  doors.  But  a 
more  cogent  and  satisfactory  solution  of  this  unexpected 
failure  might  have  been  found  in  the  wide-spread  and 
disastrous  crisis  in  monetary  affairs,  which  in  1837  began 
to  be  felt  by  every  class  and  occupation  of  the  business- 
world. 

But  this  was  not  the  last  we  are  to  see  of  the  Bishop's 
endeavors  to  compass  his  long-cherished  design.  One 
more  effort  was  yet  to  be  made.  It  was  thought, 
that,  if  a  more  central  position  than  Columbia  could  be 
agreed  upon,  a  more  general  and  liberal  interest  would 
be  enlisted  in  its  behalf.  The  county  of  Madison  was 
accordingly  fixed  upon  as  the  most  desirable  location ; 
land  and  subscriptions  were  freely  tendered;  the  title  of 


22  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

"  Madison  University  "  was  adopted  for  the  proposed  in- 
stitution ;  a  liberal  charter  was  obtained ;  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Polk  was  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  both 
within  and  without  the  Diocese.  But,  when  he  was  on 
the  eve  of  setting  out,  he  was  arrested  by  that  terrible 
financial  depreciation,  which,  beginning  in  1837,  was  not 
long  in  pervading  the  whole  country. 

Such  were  the  repeated  trials  and  repeated  disappoint- 
ments of  the  good  Bishop  in  his  noble  endeavors  to  pro- 
mote the  intellectual  and  religious  culture  of  his  Diocese 
and  of  the  South- West  generally.  But  who  dares  count 
all  this  as  so  much  "  labor  lost,"  or  prayer  unheeded? 
May  we  not  plainly  see,  in  these  hopes  and  strivings,  the 
buried  seed  and  the  struggling  germ  which,  after  thirty 
years  of  patient  waiting,  ripened  into  the  UNIVERSITY  OF 
THE  SOUTH?  —  an  institution  which  now,  in  its  vigorous 
infancy,  bids  fair  to  realize  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of 
its  wise  and  pious  founders. 

But  the  zeal  of  the  good  Bishop  in  the  cause  of  reli- 
gious education  was  not  confined  to  the  boys  only,  of  his 
Diocese  and  of  the  South-West ;  he  was  equally  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  of  giving  a  like  training  to  those 
who  were,  in  time,  to  become  the  wives  and  mothers  of 
the  succeeding  generation.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  he 
had  removed  to  Columbia,  with  the  efficient  aid  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Polk  he  set  about  establishing  in  that  place  a 
girls'  school  of  the  highest  character.  The  design  met 
with  universal  favor  and  encouragement.  Every  cir- 
cumstance of  the  times  seemed  to  favor  the  project.  A 
commanding  site,  embracing  four  acres,  was  readily  ob- 
tained within  the  limits  of  the  town ;  and  a  beautiful 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  23 

building,  sufficiently  capacious,  and  of  a  castellated  form, 
was  erected  at  a  considerable  cost.  For  forwarding  and 
conducting  this  enterprise  until  it  got  into  successful 
operation,  much  credit  was  due  to  the  liberality  and 
zealous  labors  of  Rev.  Mr.  Polk,  who  was  then  Rector  of 
St.  Peter's  Church  in  that  place.  The  exercises  of  the 
school  began  in  1836,  and  it  very  soon  attained  a  high 
degree  of  popularity;  but  unfortunately,  before  the 
building  was  thoroughly  completed,  it  proved  to  be 
largely  in  debt.  In  1838  the  Rev.  F.  G.  S.,  who  had 
the  reputation  of  being  a  most  skilful  teacher,  took  it 
in  charge,  generously  engaging  to  finish  the  work  at  his 
present  expense.  For  several  years  the  school  grew 
more  and  more  in  public  favor.  But  (as  will  afterwards 
be  seen,  in  1852),  while  in  the  heyday  of  its  prosperity, 
its  prospects  were  sadly  blighted  by  the  immoral  con- 
duct of  the  very  man  to  whose  watchful  care  it  had  been 
so  confidently  intrusted. 

This  undertaking  was  on  a  scale  commensurate  with 
the  grave  and  all-important  design  of  its  founders ;  de- 
manding an  outlay  of  means,  and  an  amount  of  labor, 
that  would  have  appalled  and  deterred  any  but  those 
two  heroic  spirits.  The  Bishop  entered  upon  it  with 
all  the  ardor  of  his  soul,  for  he  seemed  to  be  literally 
possessed  with  the  subject  of  Christian  education.  He 
spoke  of  it  from  house  to  house.  He  preached  it  from 
the  pulpit.  He  urged  it  on  his  Conventions.  He  made 
addresses  before  many  large  congregations,  from  Boston 
to  New  Orleans.  He  wrote  letters  without  number,  to 
men  of  wealth  in  our  Northern  cities.  He  left  his  home 
and  family  for  three  and  five  months  together,  travelling 


24  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

through  all  weathers,  for  the  one  purpose  of  extricating 
the  Institute  from  its  burdensome  indebtedness.  The 
many  discomforts  and  perils  of  his  journeyings  form  no 
little  part  of  those  jottings  in  his  diary,  wnich  he  never 
thought  would  be  given  to  the  world. 

On  the  election  of  Rev.  Mr.  Polk,  in  1838,  as  Mission- 
ary Bishop  of  Arkansas,  the  whole  management  of  the 
school  devolved  on  Bishop  Otey,  who,  at  the  same  time, 
was  invited  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Co- 
lumbia. It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  the  Bishop 
undertook  the  charge  of  that  parish,  for  he  well  knew 
what  an  amount  of  weight  it  was  laying  upon  his  already 
heavily  burthened  shoulders.  His  justification  to  him- 
self and  his  Convention  was,  that  the  claims  of  a  fam- 
ily were  weightier  than  those  of  a  Diocese. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Polk's  election,  he  says  to  his 
Convention, — 

"  Thus  have  we  lost  from  the  Councils  of  this  Diocese  a  brother 
well-beloved  ;  one  whose  personal  exertions  were  freely  contributed 
to  promote  the  cause  we  have  in  hand,  and  one  whose  zeal  to  honor 
the  Saviour  led  him  to  be  foremost  in  every  good  work.  Though 
poorly  able  to  spare  so  valuable  a  laborer  from  the  field  we  have  to 
cultivate,  it  is  consoling  to  reflect  that  he  has  been  called  to  more 
enlarged  usefulness  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  that  the  duties  of 
his  high  and  responsible  office  have  been  laid  upon  one  who  will 
net  shrink  from  the  faithful  performance  of  them." 

In  what  has  already  been  laid  before  the  reader,  from 
the  diary  of  Bishop  Otey  and  the  acts  of  his  Conven- 
tions, it  is  very  evident,  that  as  early  as  the  year  1832, 
and  all  along  till  1857,  just  such  an  institution  as  we 
now  have  in  the  University  of  the  South  dwelt  in  his 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  25 

hopes  and  prayers,  as  well  as  on  his  pen  and  tongue. 
It  is  enough  to  melt  a  feeling  heart,  to  read  the  list  of 
his  repeated  disappointments ;  and  no  one  can  fail  to 
admire  the  perseverance  with  which  he  clung  to  his 
dearly  cherished  ideal. 

In  the  mind  of  Mr.  Polk  there  no  doubt  existed  a  like 
conviction  of  the  importance  of  uniting  religion  with 
learning  in  our  schools  and  colleges.  For  he  could  not 
fail  to  see  the  great  need  of  such  a  measure  among  the 
uncultivated  and  fast-growing  population  of  the  South 
and  West.  Of  this  reverend  gentleman  it  may  be  truly 
said  that  he  was  no  ordinary  man,  viewed  from  any  point 
at  which  his  many-sided  personality  might  be  seen.  The 
writer  of  this  Memoir,  on  a  different  occasion  from  the 
present,  thus  attempts  to  describe  him  :  "  In  disposition 
and  bearing,  he  seemed  like  another  Leonidas,  born  to 
command.  In  person  and  appearance,  tall,  erect,  and 
even  majestic,  with  a  voice  loud  but  not  unpleasant,  a 
quick  and  flashing  eye,  a  conformation  of  features  in- 
dicative of  great  versatility  of  talent,  and  untiring 
energy ;  in  conversation,  fluent,  forcible,  and  attractive  ; 
courteous  and  chivalric  at  all  times  ;  with  elevated  aims, 
and  a  mind  comprehensive  and  grasping,  —  this  Bishop 
and  General  seemed  eminently  fitted,  even  from  his 
youth,  for  the  varied  and  widely  differing  duties  to  which 
he  was  called." 

To  this  it  may  here  be  added,  that  there  was  in  him 
an  earnestness  of  purpose,  and  a  concentrated  energy  of 
word  and  action,  which,  joined  to  a  highly  polished  and 
impressive  manner,  must  have  made  him,  in  any  posi- 
tion "  a  man  of  mark."  Though  not  deeply  read  in 


26  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

books,  he  seemed  to  have  an  intuitive  knowledge  of 
men ;  and  in  the  way  of  social  intercourse  was  without 
an  equal.  Here,  then,  was  the  very  man  who  could, 
when  the  right  time  should  come,  lay  hold  on  this  long- 
cherished  idea,  and  force  it  upon  public  attention.  That 
time,  after  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  waiting,  on  the 
part  of  Bishop  Otey,  at  length  came ;  finding  the  world 
at  peace,  our  people  generally  prosperous,  and  the  South- 
western States  —  Louisiana  in  particular  —  awaking  to  a 
consciousness  of  growing  wealth,  and  a  need  of  broader 
and  higher  educational  advantages.  This,  their  greatest 
need,  had  been  from  time  to  time,  in  public  and  in  pri- 
vate, in  the  house  and  by  the  wayside,  pressed  upon  them 
by  the  Bishop  of  Tennessee ;  but  the  idea  lay  dormant, 
waiting,  as  it  were,  for  some  unusual  power  to  wake  it 
into  life.  That  awakening  came  in  1857,  when  Bishop 
Polk,  in  a  circular  addressed  to  his  brother  Bishops  of 
the  South,  told  them  that  the  day  for  debates  and  reso- 
lutions had  passed  away,  and  the  time  for  action  bad 
come. 

Writing  to  one  of  his  Clergy  (Rev.  T.  W.  Humes), 
Aug.  8,  1856,  Bishop  Otey  says,  of  the  projected  Uni- 
versity of  the  South,  — 

"I  have  had  this  matter  under  consideration  for  five  years  past, 
— nay,  much  longer ;  but  for  five  j'ears  past  I  have  had  a  plan 
drawn  out  for  such  an  object,  under  a  deep  and  settled  conviction 
that  neither  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  the  Virginia  School, 
Kenyon,  Jubilee,  or  Nashotah,  nor  all  combined,  could  meet  the  de- 
mands of  the  South-West.  We  must  provide  for  ourselves.  And 
I  am  glad  that  one  has  taken  hold  of  the  subject,  with  more  leisure 
and  ability  than  I  have,  to  prosecute  it  to  a  happy  result." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  27 

On  an  impartial  review  of  this  question,  the  truth  of 
the  matter  appears  to  be  this  :  that  the  success  of  Bishop 
Polk  would  have  fallen  far  short  of  what  it  was,  if  his 
elder  brother  Bishop  had  not  so  widely,  and  in  various 
ways,  prepared  the  way  for  it ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  University  of  the  South  might  at  this  moment 
exist  only  in  the  hopes  and  prayers  of  its  friends,  if  the 
adventurous  and  vigorous  Bishop  of  Louisiana  had  not 
taken  its  cause  in  hand. 

In  the  diary  of  Bishop  Otey,  we  find  the  following 
entry,  so  characteristic  of  the  modest  and  generous 
nature  of  the  man.  He  had  been  debating  with  him- 
self about  using,  in  his  Address  to  the  approaching  Con- 
vention at  Jackson,  an  extract  from  one  which  he  had 
delivered  in  1836,  at  Pulaski,  on  the  subject  of  a  Liter- 
ary and  Theological  Seminary.  He  seems,  for  some  rea- 
son, to  shrink  from  it  as  unnecessary,  if  not  uncalled  for, 
"  lest  it  might  seem  that  I  wished  to  claim  the  honor  of 
originating  this  great  enterprise,  which  I  really  do  not ; 
for  I  care  nothing  for  such  honor.  And,  as  it  has  been 
attributed  to  Bishop  Polk,  I  am  more  than  willing  that 
to  him  it  shall  belong." 

In  1841,  Bishop  Polk  having  been  elected  to  the 
Episcopate  of  Louisiana,  the  missionary  work  needed  in 
Arkansas  and  the  Indian  Territory  was  assigned  by  the 
General  Convention  to  Bishop  Otey ;  and,  about  the 
same  time,  the  Diocese  of  Mississippi  elected  him  its 
Provisional  Bishop.  In  January  he  set  out  to  visit  Flori- 
da, passing  through  Louisiana,  Alabama,  and  Georgia ; 
making  it  full  five  months  before  his  return  home.  A 
twofold  object  was  to  be  accomplished  by  this  long  and 


28  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

hazardous  journey,  —  the  one,  to  minister  to  the  people 
as  opportunity  might  offer ;  the  other,  to  solicit  aid  in 
behalf  of  the  Female  Institute  in  Columbia.  A  recur- 
rence to  his  diary  of  that  year  will  show  a  succession 
of  risks  and  hardships  seldom  encountered  in  the  life- 
time experience  of  any  Bishop.  It  was  in  this  year  that 
he  was  shocked  and  pained  by  the  ill  conduct  of  one  of 
his  Clergy.  After  a  fair  trial,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Muller  was 
found  guilty  of  the  charges  alleged  against  him,  and  the 
Bishop  was  compelled  to  degrade  him  from  the  Ministry. 
On  the  adjournment  of  the  court,  we  find  these  words 
in  the  Bishop's  diary :  "  May  God  be  merciful  to  our 
errors ;  and  pardon  our  mistakes  and  want  of  wisdom, 
if  in  any  thing  we  have  failed  in  duty  to  Him,  to  His 
Church,  or  to  our  brother."  The  subsequent  career  of 
that  unhappy  culprit  showed  that  he  had  yet  to  sink 
still  lower  in  moral  turpitude. 

Between  1842  and  1844,  the  Bishop  made  a  visita- 
tion of  Mississippi,  Arkansas,  and  the  Indian  Territory, 
in  which  he  travelled  from  three  to  four  thousand 
miles.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  risks  and 
perils  encountered  on  those  long  and  wearisome  jour- 
neys, from  the  following  part  of  a  letter  to  a  friend 
(W.  C.  Hopkins),  giving  some  experience  of  his  trip 
to  the  Indian  Territory.  He  was  accompanied,  a  part 
of  the  way,  by  a  Rev.  Mr.  Harris. 

STEAMER  "EVELINA,"  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER,  April  10,  1844. 

MY  DEAR  HOPKINS,  —  By  the  above  caption  you  will  perceive 
that  I  have  once  more,  through  God's  goodness,  reached  the  pre- 
cincts of  civilized  life.  Right  glad  am  I  that  I  have  got  out  of 
that  Indian  country.  If  I  had  any  curiosity  to  see  the  red  man 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  29 

at  home,  in  his  native  state,  it  has  been  fully  gratified.  .  .  .  We 
set  off  for  Fort  Towson,  neither  of  us  knowing  one  foot  of  the 
road.  The  first  day's  ride  of  forty  miles,  through  miry  bottoms, 
brought  us  just  to  the  borders  of  the  Indian  country.  .  .  .  We 
were  directed  to  take  a  trail  at  a  certain  point  on  what  is  called 
the  "  Military  Road,"  and  to  follow  it.  We  did  so  ;  it  led  us  over 
hills,  by  the  edge  of  precipices,  along  the  tops  of  mountains,  and 
through  bogs  and  swamps  deep,  miry,  and  horrible  beyond  any 
thing  I  had  ever  conceived  of  as  passable  by  human  beings.  Once 
we  got  into  a  low  bottom,  covered  with  water  between  knee-deep 
and  saddle-skirts,  in  every  direction,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see. 
The  trail  led  straight  into  it ;  but  which  way  it  took  through  it,  or 
where  it  went  out,  was  the  point  to  be  settled.  Many  a  philoso- 
pher, and  many  wiser  preachers  than  we,  would  have  been  puzzled 
to  determine  the  question.  Mr.  Harris  left  every  thing  to  me, 
either  because  he  was  utterly  posed  himself,  or  else  he  wished  to 
see  how  I  could  manage.  Being  a  taciturn  man,  he  said  nothing, 
at  least  till  we  got  through  the  bog  ;  and  then  remarked,  "  Bishop, 
you  know  something  about  swamps."  .  .  .  We  arrived  at  the 
bank  of  a  creek  which  last  night's  rain  had  made  impassable.  We 
had  to  encamp  in  the  wet  bottom,  the  air  chilly,  and  the  snow  still 
falling.  The  next  day  we  got  over,  and  came  to  a  river  called  the 
Poteau,  a  deep  and  rapid  stream,  and  without  a  ferry-boat.  We 
again  pitched  our  tents,  and  at  the  end  of  three  days  were  barely 
able  to  get  over  in  safety.  By  this  time  you  may  well  suppose 
that  the  novelty  of  such  an  expedition  had  been  succeeded  by 
a  very  different  feeling.  I  had  had  enough  of  the  romance  of  a 
soldier's  mode  of  life  to  make  me  right  glad,  two  days  after,  to 
find  m}*self  in  comfortable  quarters. 

These  long  and  repeated  absences  of  the  Bishop  could 
not  but  be  sorely  felt  by  his  family  ;  especially  by  Mrs. 
Otey,  on  whom  was  devolved  the  care  and  responsibility 
of  a  large  and  increasing  household.  It  is  not  surpris- 
ing, therefore,  to  find  the  following,  written  on  a  blank 
leaf  of  one  of  his  earliest  diaries :  — 


30  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

"  DEC.  2,  1834.  My  husband  left  home  to-day,  for  Mississippi 
and  the  Western  district.  My  trouble  and  distress  are  renewed 
at  this  departure.  God  grant  that  I  may  take  these  things  more 
patiently,  and  trust  more  to  Him  who  has  been  so  kind  and  mer- 
ciful to  me,  and  will  always  do  what  is  best  for  those  who  love 
Him." 

The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  Bishop,  Oct.  18,  1842 :  — 

"This,  you  know,  is  our  wedding-day.  How  different  are  my 
feelings  from  what  they  were  this  morning  twenty-one  years  ago  ! 
Then  my  spirits  were  buoyant,  and  full  of  bright  hope ;  willing  to 
forget  all  the  past,  as  the  beloved  object  was  almost  in  possession, 
who  was  to  make  me  completely  happy  forever.  But  now  I  feel 
as  if  I  were  standing  alone,  full  of  care  and  trouble  and  disappoint- 
ment. But,  no  doubt,  it  is  all  for  the  best  for  my  poor  soul." 

In  1844  the  Bishop  was  invited  to  the  permanent 
rectorship  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Columbia.  It  was  in 
this  year  that  Bishop  H.  U.  Onderdonk  was  brought  to 
trial.  Through  force  of  circumstances,  and  very  much 
against  his  inclination,  Bishop  Otey  became  his  "  pre- 
senter." In  speaking  of  it  to  his  succeeding  Conven- 
tion, he  says, — 

u  Never,  in  the  course  of  my  life,  have  I  been  called  on  to 
perform  so  painful  and  distressing  a  duty.  'Bishop  Onderdonk  was 
one  of  my  consecrators  ;  and,  from  the  day  of  our  first  acquaint- 
ance, our  intercourse  had  always  been  of  the  most  friendly  and 
cordial  character.  But  when  grave  charges,  made  under  oath,  were 
preferred  against  him  by  responsible  persons  ;  and  when  those  who 
had  known  him  long,  and,  as  I  supposed,  intimately,  refused  even 
to  examine  the  affidavits  which  so  deepty  implicated  his  character, 
—  I  felt  that  duty  to  him,  as  well  as  to  the  Church,  required  me  no 
longer  to  hesitate,  so  far  as  depended  on  me,  in  placing  the  whole 
subject  before  an  impartial  and  competent  tribunal." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  31 

During  the  year  1844,  the  Bishop  felt  compelled,  in 
duty  to  his  Diocese,  to  resign  his  Missionary  Jurisdiction 
of  Arkansas  and  the  Indian  Territory ;  and,  about  the 
same  time,  gave  up  also  his  Provisional  charge  of  the 
Diocese  of  Mississippi,  as  the  Eev.  Dr.  Hawks  had  just 
been  elected  to  that  office,  and  it  was  generally  supposed 
that  his  election  would  be  confirmed  by  the  General 
Convention. 

In  1846,  the  Female  Institute  being  still  encumbered 
with  debt,  the  Bishop,  at  the  suggestion  and  request  of 
Northern  brethren,  sent  out  a  very  strong  appeal  in  its 
behalf.  The  result,  however,  fell  far  short  of  his  rea- 
sonable expectations. 

The  year  1847  was  a  time  of  deep  sorrow  and  loss  to 
the  good  Bishop.  In  the  midst  of  a  visitation  of  his 
Diocese,  he  was  unexpectedly  turned  back  by  the  illness 
of  one  who  seems  to  have  been  his  favorite  child.  .On 
reaching  home,  May  28,  he  writes :  — 

u  Mihi  atra  dies!  The  darkest  and  bitterest  day  of  my  life! 
My  noble-minded,  generous-hearted,  and  beloved  child,  Sarah  Mc- 
Garock,  departed  this  life  to-day  at  12  M.  O  God,  Thou  hast  indeed 
smitten  me  down,  and  crushed  me.  I  most  humbly  beseech  Thee, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  to  bring  me  at  last  to  rejoin  her  happy,  and, 
as  I  trust,  glorified  spirit,  in  a  holier,  better,  and  purer  world." 

The  most  cursory  view  of  his  diary  will  show  how  the 
bitterness  of  that  trial  would  again  and  again,  to  the 
very  end  of  his  life,  come  back  to  him,  by  night  and  by 
day,  in  solitude  and  society,  and  in  distant  lands,  as  well 
as  among  the  scenes  and  companions  in  which  she  once 
delighted. 

But,  great  as  was  this  blow  to  the  tender  heart  of  the 


32  Memoir  of  Bishop   Qtey. 

Bishop,  he  was  yet,  and  very  soon,  to  undergo  another 
and  to  human  view  an  equally  mysterious  loss,  in  the 
death  of  Rev.  Philip  W.  Alston,  Rector  of  Calvary 
Church,  Memphis.  Mr.  Alston  had  come,  with  the 
elder  members  of  his  family,  from  North  Carolina,  in 
1830,  after  being  distinguished  at  the  University  of  that 
State,  for  his  brilliant  intellect  and  loveliness  of  charac- 
ter. Ordained  by  Bishop  Otey  in  1840,  he  commenced 
his  labors  in  Memphis,  and  soon  became  an  influential 
member  of  the  Councils  of  the  Diocese.  The  Bishop 
admired  him,  loved  him,  and  leaned  upon  him.  His 
death  was  sudden,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  Convention 
assembled  in  Columbia  in  June,  1847.  The  whole 
Diocese  was  thrown  into  mourning,  but  by  none  was  he 
more  lamented  than  by  him  from  whom  he  had  received 
his  high  commission.  In  speaking  of  Mr.  Alston  to  the 
Convention,  the  day  following  his  death,  the  Bishop 
uses  the  following  apparently  over-wrought  terms  of 
praise :  — 

"  In  the  stores  of  his  various  and  accurate  information  ;  in  vigor 
of  intellect ;  in  soundness  of  judgment ;  in  the  readiness  with  which 
he  would  lay  hold  upon,  and  unfold,  and  make  clear,  difficult  sub- 
jects ;  in  the  happiness  and  appositeness  of  his  illustrations,  making 
all  arts,  sciences,  trades,  and  the  outspread  volume  of  nature,  trib- 
utary to  his  purpose  ;  in  the  power  of  invention  ;  and  in  the  beauty, 
strength,  and  harmony  of  his  composition,  —  I  deem  it  no  ex- 
travagance to  say  that  I  have  never  known  his  superior  at  the  same 
age,  if,  indeed,  his  equal  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  Church. 
And,  —  what  may  appear  the  crowning  grace  in  his  character, — 
with  all  his  admirable  qualities  of  mind,  was  combined  a  most 
childlike  and  winning  simplicity.  When  shall  we  look  upon  his 
like  again?  " 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  33 

But  there  was  yet  in  store  for  the  Bishop  another  test 
of  his  submission  to  the  calls  of  God.  Heber  had  gone  ; 
Sarah  had  followed ;  now  the  sweetest  and  dearest  lamb 
of  his  fold  was  demanded :  the  lovely  little  Fanny,  in 
the  first  budding  of  her  charms,  and  in  all  the  winning 
graces  of  childhood,  must  be  given  up.  She  was  the 
darling,  the  enchanter,  and  the  playfellow  of  her  father. 
Of  this  trying  event  he  thus  writes,  Feb.  6,  1848 :  — 

"  A  day  of  deep  bereavement  and  sorrow  this  has  been.  My 
precious  and  darling  child  Fanny,  the  image  of  her  dear  sister 
Sarah,  struggled  all  day  with  scarlet-fever ;  and  last  night  her 
spirit  was  released  from  its  clay  tenement,  and  borne,  I  trust,  on 
angels'  wings,  to  the  Paradise  of  God." 

Three  days  later  he  writes :  — 

"  The  world  and  all  that  is  in  it  seems  to  me  to  be  sad.  I  am 
low  down  in  the  mire  of  despondency  ;  but  God  sees  my  heart, 
and  He  knows  that  I  do  not  falter  in  my  purpose  to  love  and  serve 
Him,  —  no,  not  for  a  moment.  Oh  for  the  spirit,  blessed  Lord 
God,  of  humble  submission  to  Thy  will !  ' 

On  the  refusal  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hawks,  in  1844,  to*  be 
re-elected  to  the  Episcopate  of  Mississippi,  the  Stand- 
ing Committee  of  that  Diocese  had  prevailed  on  Bishop 
Otey  to  take  them  again  under  his  care.  But  he  now 
saw  that  it  was  fully  in  their  power  to  have  a  Bishop  of 
their  own ;  and  accordingly  resigned  at  once,  by  way 
of  spurring  them  to  action. 

In  his  address  to  the  Mississippi  Convention  of  1848, 
he  says,  in  speaking  of  the  great  good  effected  by  the 
late  General  Convention, — 

"The  only  drawback  to  peace  and  prosperity  and  friendly 
intercourse  was  the  formation,  among  some  of  its  members,  of 


34  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

an  '  Evangelical  Association  '  for  arresting  the  alleged  tendency 
of  the  Church  to  corruption,  and  for  correcting  the  errors  which 
were  said  to  pervade  the  whole  body." 

In  the  list  appended  to  their  published  circular,  he 
saw  the  names  of  many  brethren  whom  he  loved,  gave 
them  credit  for  zeal  and  piety,  and  purity  of  motive, 
but  denied  their  right  to  pronounce  judgment  upon 
the  characters  of  brethren  who  differ  with  them,  and 
of  proclaiming  to  the  world  that  "  error*  soul-destroying 
error,"  is  at  this  time  pervading  the  whole  Church. 

He  then  adds,  — 

" 1  declare  my  conviction  that  this  movement  is  the  most 
dangerous  to  our  peace  that  I  have  ever  known  to  be  made  in  the 
historj7  of  our  Church  ;  and,  if  sustained  by  any  large  number  of 
our  Communion,  is  inevitably  destined  to  end  in  schism.  I  deny 
the  right  and  authority  of  this  Association  to  send  its  publications, 
without  my  consent,  into  the  Diocese  of  which  I  am  the  overseer. 
And  I  exhort  }TOU,  brethren,  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  an 
enterprise  which  undertakes  to  correct,  through  an  irresponsible 
Association,  what  it  would  not  attempt  through  the  General 
Convention." 

The  year  1849  being  a  year  of  cholera,  and  the  State 
of  Tennessee  threatened  with  the  infection,  the  Bishop 
sent  forth  to  his  Diocese  a  Pastoral  Letter  with  prayers 
suited  to  the  occasion.  Later  in  the  year,  he  issued 
another  Pastoral  on  "  Christian  Manners,"  cautioning  his 
people  against  a  too  free  indulgence  in  wordly  amuse- 
ments. 

1850.  The  months  of  February  and  March  of  this 
year  were  spent  in  Mississippi ;  chiefly  in  seeking  to  re- 
cover his  health,  in  visiting  old  friends,  and  in  giving  to 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  35 

that  Diocese  a  Bishop  of  its  own.  Accordingly,  on  the 
twenty-fourth  day  of  February  (St.  Matthias'  Day),  in 
St.  Andrew's  Church,  Jackson,  he  consecrated  the  Rev. 
William  Mercer  Green,  D.D.,  to  the  office  of  a  Bishop 
in  the  Church  of  God,  and  for  the  Diocese  of  Missis- 
sippi. The  Bishops  present  and  assisting  were  the 
Right  Rev.  Leonidas  Polk,  Bishop  of  Louisiana ;  Right 
Rev.  Nicholas  H.  Cobbs,  Bishop  of  Alabama ;  and  the 
Right  Rev.  George  W.  Freeman,  Bishop  of  Arkansas. 
To  the  cursory  reader,  there  may  seem  nothing  particu- 
larly noteworthy  in  this  act  of  consecration  ;  but,  to  one 
acquainted  with  the  antecedents  of  the  parties,  it  pre- 
sents a  remarkable  instance  of  the  vicissitudes  of  time, 
or,  rather,  the  orderings  of  Providence.  A  retrospect 
of  just  twenty -five  years  would  bring  to  view  the  present 
consecrating  Bishop  receiving  baptism  at  the  hands  of 
him  upon  whom  he  is  now  conferring  the  highest  office 
in  the  Church. 

The  health  of  the  Bishop  was  at  this  time  very  infirm. 
He  was,  in  truth,  "  broken  down."  His  long  and  re- 
peated journeyings,  and  frequent  attacks  of  illness,  added 
to  the  cares  of  a  family  and  a  Diocese,  had  undermined 
a  constitution  originally  of  the  stoutest  cast.  This  now 
began  to  be  seen  by  his  many  friends,  who,  on  his  return 
from  Mississippi,  insisted  upon  his  giving  himself  a  long 
rest,  and  devoting  his  chief  attention  to  the  restoration 
of  his  health.  To  this  end,  a  sea-voyage  with  a  few 
months  of  travel  in  Europe  was  recommended ;  and  a 
sufficient  sum  to  meet  the  expense  was  pressed  upon  him 
by  his  friends.  Accordingly,  on  the  12th  of  April,  1851, 
he  embarked  from  New  York,  in  the  ship  "  Waterloo," 


36  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

accompanied  by  several  of  his  Tennessee  acquaintances. 
The  tenth  day  after  sailing,  the  ship  encountered  a  se- 
vere gale,  which  threatened  at  times  to  ingulf  her  and 
her  living  load.  Great  fear  was  expressed  by  many  of 
the  passengers,  whilst  the  Bishop  looked  on  with  awe 
and  composure  of  spirit.  Though  spared  the  affliction 
of  sea-sickness,  he  suffered  much  from  his  old  diseases, 
and  for  want  of  the  many  comforts  which  his  weak  and 
disordered  condition  demanded. 

Before  setting  sail,  the  Bishop  addressed  the  following 
farewell  to  his  Diocese  :  — 

BRETHREN  OF  THE  CLERGY  AND  OF  THE  LAITY,  —  For  the  first  time 
in  the  course  of  twenty-three  years,  I  shall  be  deprived  of  the  high 
privilege  and  great  pleasure  of  meeting  with  you  in  Convention. 
It  is  a  privilege  which  I  have  always  prized,  —  a  pleasure  which 
nothing  short  of  stern  necessity  or  dut}T  would  lead  me  to  forego. 
Often  in  }-our  assemblies  have  I  realized  the  blessedness  of  which 
the  Psalmist  speaks,  when  he  says,  ''Behold,  how  good  and  jo}*ful 
a  thing  it  is,  brethren,  to  dwell  together  in  unity  !  "  Coming  to- 
gether after  a  year's  labors  in  our  respective  and  widely  scattered 
parishes,  we  have  our  trials  to  recount,  our  afflictions  to  mourn 
over,  our  joys  to  communicate,  our  deliverances  to  mention,  our 
man}T  blessings  to  commemorate ;  and,  in  all,  to  know  and  to  feel 
that  we  have  the  warm  and  spontaneous  sympathy  of  loving  and 
confiding  hearts.  Who  of  us  does  not  feel  that  it  would  be  a  sore 
deprivation  to  be  absent  from  such  a  gathering-together  of  the 
faithful  in  Christ  Jesus?  But,  though  absent  from  you  in  body,  I 
trust  we  shall  be  united  in  spirit,  and  that  through  }'our  prayers, 
which  I  earnestly  bespeak,  "  I  maybe  restored  to  you  the  sooner." 
When  this  communication  shall  be  read  to  }*ou,  I  shall,  if  it  please 
God,  be  in  a  distant  land  ;  seeking  through  a  change  of  climate  and 
scene,  and  through  cessation  from  labors  in  which  I  have  been 
engaged  for  the  last  seventeen  }'ears,  a  restoration  to  health.  For 
the  kindness  of  those  friends  who  have  enabled  me  to  travel,  and 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  37 

for  the  interest  which  my  brethren,  both  lay  and  clerical,  have 
manifested  in  my  happiness,  I  have  no  words  adequately  to  express 
my  sense  of  gratitude.  Ma3r  God,  in  his  goodness,  crown  them 
with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  hurried  letter  ad- 
dressed, at  the  same  time,  to  his  three  daughters :  — 

DEAR  VIRGINIA,  HENRIETTA,  AND  DONNA. 

My  Beloved  Children,  —  I  have  but  a  moment  to  write  a  line, 
and  to  say,  May  the  God  of  peace  and  love  be  with  you,  bless,  pre- 
serve, and  keep  you !  I  intended  to  write  a  letter  to  each  of  you, 
but  have  been  prevented  by  the  calls  of  company.  The  hour  to 
embark  has  come ;  and  I  can  say  only  a  few  words  to  intimate  how 
full  my  heart  is,  at  this  moment,  of  love  and  tenderness  for  you 
all.  For  my  dear  Donna,  I  feel  most  solicitude.  Could  I  know 
certainly  that  she  would  daily  strive  to  imbibe  the  spirit  of  Christ 
and  his  Gospel,  how  happy  would  I  be  !  Let  us,  my  dear  children, 
strive  to  set  our  minds  and  hearts  more  on  heavenly  things.  I 
pray  for  you  daily,  that  this  may  be  so.  Don't  think  me  low- 
spirited  :  on  the  contrary,  I  am  cheerful  and  tranquil,  far  beyond 
what  I  anticipated.  .  .  .  Again,  farewell !  May  God  watch  over 
and  guide  us  in  all  our  ways,  and  bring  us  to  meet  again,  and, 
at  last,  to  rejoin  our  dear  ones  who  have  gone  before  us,  in 
mansions  of  eternal  life  and  bliss. 

Your  loving  father, 

JAS.   H.   OTEY. 

The  voyage  was  a  long  and  tedious  one,  consuming 
the  whole  of  twenty-seven  days.  Liverpool  was  reached 
on  the  8th  of  May ;  and  he  gives,  in  a  letter  to  Rev. 
Mr.  Tomes,  the  following  amusing  account  of  his  first 
appearance  on  British  soil:  — 

"After  getting  through  with  the  custom-house,  I  sallied  forth, 
wrapped  in  my  cloak,  with  my  cap  on,  —  giving  me  an  appearance 
of  extraordinary  longitude,  —  to  find  my  friend  Mr.  Jackson,  on 


88  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

whom  m}7  bills  were  drawn.  As  I  passed  along,  I  was  amused, 
and  could  not  refrain  from  smiling,  at  the  manifest  curiosity  which 
my  appearance,  or  manner,  or  gait,  or  something,  —  I  know  not 
what, — excited  among  all  who  met  me.  They  would  look  at  me, 
and  occasionally  stop,  and  look  back  after  me.  Upon  nearing  Mr. 
Jackson's  office,  I  had  to  cross  a  square  ;  and,  stopping  at  the 
corner,  inquired  of  a  gentleman  the  precise  point  of  my  destina- 
tion. Mr.  Jackson  was  at  the  opposite  corner,  a  hundred  yards 
distant.  Some  person  remarked  to  him,  at  the  instant,  '  Yonder 
is  a  very  tall  American.'  Mr.  Jackson  saw  me,  and  started  im- 
mediately to  meet  me  ;  and  said,  on  coming  up,  '  I  was  sure  it  was 
you,  Bishop,  when  }*ou  started  across  the  square ;  and  I  came  to 
meet  you.'  — '  But  how  did  }TOU  know  me,  Mr.  Jackson  ?  Is  there 
any  thing  peculiar  or  distinctive  in  us  Americans?'  — '  Oh,'  said 
he,  'we  know  them  by  their  gait,  and  we  have  few  men  so  tall  as 
you.'" 

On  the  following  Sunday,  he  writes  in  his  diary :  — 

"  Attended  St.  James'  Church,  where  thanks  were  publicly 
returned  to  God,  in  my  name,  for  deliverance  from  the  perils  of 
the  sea." 

After  remaining  in  Liverpool  long  enough  to  replen- 
ish his  wardrobe,  and  adapt  it  to  the  new  relations  in 
which  he  found  himself,  he  visited  several  places  of 
interest,  such  as  Manchester,  Newstead  Abbey,  Oxford, 
and  Stratford-upon-Avon,  before  proceeding  to  London. 
At  last,  when  he  reaches  that  great  city,  he  writes  in 
his  diary :  — 

"MAY  20.  And  here  am  I  in  London,  that  '  exceeding  great 
city,' — the  modern  Babylon  as  it  is  sometimes  called  (less,  I 
hope,  on  account  of  its  abominations,  than  the  variety  of  its 
languages,  and  the  richness  of  its  merchandise)  ;  the  capital  of 
the  British  Empire,  upon  whose  dependencies  the  sun  never  sets ; 
the  commercial  emporium  of  the  world.  Here  I  am,  in  this  mart 
of  nations,  where  I  never  expected  to  be." 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  39 

In  a  short  time,  he  was  receiving  from  the  Bishops 
and  Clergy,  and  our  American  minister,  every  attention 
which  he  could  well  have  expected  or  desired.  Both 
here  and  at  Liverpool,  it  was  his  good  fortune  to  hear 
some  of  the  best  preachers  of  the  day,  such  as  M'Neil 
and  the  Bishop  of  Oxford ;  but  he  writes :  — 

"  I  did  not  seek  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  great  and  dis- 
tinguished preachers ;  for  I  find,  that,  when  I  listen  to  a  great 
man,  my  mind  is  too  apt  to  be  dwelling  upon  the  man,  to  the  for- 
getting of  his  subject." 

The  invitations  which  he  received  were  numerous, 
and  he  acknowledges  them  gratefully ;  but  he  could 
not  help  perceiving  the  striking  difference  between  the 
manners  of  that  people  and  of  those  he  had  left  behind 
him.  He  says,  — 

"  Sat  down  to  dinner  at  8  P.M.,  and  passed  my  time  as  pleas- 
antly as  I  could,  in  a  country  the  manners  of  whose  people  are 
cold,  stiff,  and  all  the  time  constrained.  These  folks  here,  when 
they  would  even  treat  you  with  marked  attention,  seem  neverthe- 
less to  speak  and  to  act  with  an  air  of  constraint ;  as  if  they  feared 
they  might  lose  some  of  that  dignity  or  consequence  which  they 
claim,  or  affect  to  claim,  as  belonging  to  their  rank  or  condition. 
There  is  no  positive  want  of  politeness,  but  a  manifest  deficiency 
in  efforts  to  make  a  guest  feel  easy,  and,  as  we  say  in  America, 
at  home." 

It  is  hoped  that  an  occasional  extract  of  similar  kind, 
from  his  diary,  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  reader. 

u  SUNDAY,  June  1.  The  Bishop  of  London  having  }Testerday 
furnished  me  with  a  ticket  of  admission  to  the  Royal  Chapel  of  St. 
James,  I  drove  thither  at  8  A.M.  The  Clergyman  read  the  Ante- 
Communion  Service,  preached  a  short  and  practical  sermon,  and 


40  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

proceeded  with  the  Communion  Office.  On  rising  from  my  knees 
after  partaking,  I  was  surprised  to  perceive  that  the  Duke  of  Well- 
ington had  been  kneeling  beside  me  ;  and  I  was  much  gratified  that 
it  was  so.  Here  was  a  curious  or  interesting  circumstance,  at  least 
to  myself.  That  the  conqueror  of  Napoleon  should  kneel  by  my 
side,  at  the  same  altar,  professing  his  faith  in  that  Saviour  whose 
blood  of  atonement  was  poured  out  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  was 
an  incident  which  I  surely  never  anticipated  among  the  bare  proba- 
bilities of  life." 

The  next  day,  the  Bishop  set  out  for  Great  Malvern, 
the  celebrated  hydropathic  establishment  which  had 
been  earnestly  recommended  to  him  as  most  likely  to 
restore  him  to  health.  He  describes  the  village  as  situ- 
ated on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  commanding  a  full 
view  of  a  most  lovely  valley,  and  forming  altogether  a 
most  beautiful  picture  to  the  eye. 

After  submitting  for  two  weeks  to  the  regimen  of 
the  establishment,  he  returned,  by  way  of  recreation, 
to  London.  On  attending  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  he  was 
unpleasantly  impressed  with  the  intoning  of  the  service, 
as  exceedingly  malapropos.  He  says,  — 

"  Besides  depriving  the  people  of  their  share  in  the  worship,  it 
is  objectionable  from  its  wearisomeness,  monotony,  and  indistinct- 
ness, —  so  that  it  reaches  neither  the  head  nor  the  heart,  neither 
the  feelings  nor  the  understanding." 

Monday,  June  17,  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  friends 
of  the  venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  in  St.  Martin's  Hall,  favored 
with  the  presence  of  Prince  Albert.  Speeches  were 
made  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  Lord  John  Russell,  and 
others  who  had  been  appointed  to  do  so.  It  was  very 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  41 

natural  for  Bishop  Otey,  coming  as  he  did  from  a  foreign 
land,  to  expect  to  be  appointed  also ;  but  he  was  unin- 
tentionally overlooked.  Several  of  the  speakers,  espe- 
cially the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  made  friendly  references 
to  the  American  Church  and  people.  At  the  close  of  his 
speech,  Bishop  Otey  asked  the  Duke  if  he  could  not 
make  an  opportunity  for  him  to  address  the  meeting. 
The  Duke  replied  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  etc.1 
The  Bishop  then  said,  "  Sir,  I  am  an  American  Bishop  ; 
and  I  think  it  becoming  the  occasion,  that  I  should  be 
allowed  to  respond  to  the  sentiments  which  have  been 
so  kindly  expressed  toward  my  country,  and  the  Church 
of  which  I  am  a  Minister."  He  then  beckoned  to  the 
Bishop  of  London,  who  spoke  to  Prince  Albert. 

"  In  a  minute  or  so,  I  was  informed  that  his  Royal  Highness 
had  granted  leave  to  me  to  make  a  short  address,  confining  my 
remarks  to  the  particular  topic  on  which  I  wished  to  be  heard. 
So  soon  as  the  Earl  of  Harrowby  had  concluded,  the  Bishop  of 
London  announced  nry  name  to  the  meeting ;  and  I  rose  in  my 
place,  and  made  the  following  address,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recall 
the  words :  — 

"  4  May  it  please  your  Royal  Highness  :  I  beg  leave  to  express 
my  deep  sense  of  the  kindness  which  allows  me  the  opportunity  of 
addressing  a  few  words,  through  you,  to  this  large  and  respected  as- 
sembly. It  is  in  keeping  with  the  manifestations  of  friendly  interest 
towards  the  United  States,  and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
America,  which  it  has  been  my  happiness  to  witness  in  every  part 
of  England  which  I  have  visited.  Believe  me,  sir,  that  this  feel- 
ing of  kindly  regard  is  warmly  reciprocated  and  carefully  cherished 
towards  the  Church  of  England,  by  the  members  of  that  commun- 
ion of  which  I  am  in  some  sort  the  representative  here  to-day. 

1  The  Duke,  at  meeting  with  the  Bishop  the  day  following,  made  a 
suitable  apology. 


42  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

I  should  not  have  sought  the  opportunity  to  say  a  word  on  this 
occasion,  but  for  the  kind  and  even  complimentary  terms  in  which 
reference  has  been  made  to  the  people  and  Church  in  the  United 
States,  by  the  speakers  who  have  addressed  your  Royal  Highness, 
and  especially  by  the  noble  Duke  who  moved  the  resolution  now 
under  consideration.  The  merits  of  that  resolution,  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  discuss.  I  know  that  I  must  not  detain  the  meeting, 
at  this  late  hour,  by  making  a  speech.  But  his  Grace  was  pleased 
to  quote  the  language  of  an  American  Bishop,  and  adopt  it  as  the 
expression  of  his  own  sentiments.  I  am  authorized  to  speak  for 
that  right  reverend  prelate,  as  I  am  for  some  others  in  the  Episco- 
pate of  the  American  Church  ;  and  I  beg  leave  to  sa}>  that  he  will 
and  that  we  all  shall  feel  happy  at  this  and  at  every  manifestation  of 
love  and  kindness,  which  our  brethren  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 
shall  give  us ;  in  the  earnest  conviction  and  hope  that  each  and 
every  such  mark  of  friendly  regard  will  strengthen  the  ties  of 
amity  between  two  powerful  nations,  and  knit  the  members  of  our 
communion  together  in  the  closer  bonds  of  that  fellowship  called 
the  "  Communion  of  Saints."  Before  I  take  my  seat,  I  beg  leave 
to  sa}*  one  word  confirmatorj7  of  all  that  has  been  advanced  here, 
this  afternoon,  as  to  the  importance  of  increasing  the  number  of 
Bishops  in  order  to  extend  the  Church.  I  mean  not  to  argue  this 
poiut,  but  simply  to  bear  my  testimony,  formed  upon  personal 
observation  and  experience.  When,  twenty-six  years  ago,  I  re- 
moved to  the  State  of  which  I  am  now  Bishop,  there  was  not  an 
organized  congregation  of  Episcopalians  within  its  limits,  nor  was 
there  a  Clergyman  of  the  Church  within  two  hundred  miles  of  my 
residence.  Within  eight  years,  the  ecclesiastical  organization  of 
the  Diocese  was  completed  by  the  election  of  a  Bishop  ;  and  within 
five  years  more,  the  number  of  Clergymen  in  the  Diocese  had 
increased  from  six  to  twenty-one.  Such  has  been  the  result,  I 
believe,  without  exception,  in  the  histor}7  of  all  our  recently  organ- 
ized Dioceses.  And  it  is  my  firm  persuasion,  that  the  Church  of 
England  cannot  take  a  more  direct  and  effectual  method  to  advance 
the  cause  of  our  blessed  Redeemer  and  His  Church  in  the  world, 
than  by  having  Bishops  establishe'd  in  all  the  colonial  dependencies 
of  the  British  Empire.  ...  It  has  been  said,  sir,  by  an  Ameri- 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  43 

can  orator,  that  the  roll  of  the  British  drum  does  not  cease  at 
one  of  the  military  posts  of  this  mighty  kingdom,  before  it  is 
taken  up  at  another,  and  that  thus  the  warning  sound  of  her 
power  is  prolonged  and  heard,  girding  the  globe.  We  can 
scarcely  forget  that  it  will  be  thirtj'-six  years  to-morrow,1  since  the 
meteor  flag  of  Britain  floated  high  in  air,  amidst  the  triumphant 
shouts  of  victory ;  but,  sir,  it  will  be  more  to  England's  substan- 
tial honor  and  glory,  if  the  beacon-lights  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prise, kindled  by  her  sons,  shall  be  multiplied  until  their  radiance, 
spreading  and  intermingling,  shall  at  last  so  blend  as  to  form  a 
sea  of  glory,  and  cover  all  the  earth.'  ' 

The  Bishop's  speech  was  received  with  unbounded 
applause1;  and,  a  few  days  after,  was  thus  cordially 
acknowledged  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury :  — 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, held  on  June  20,  1851,  it  was  resolved  that  the  cordial  thanks 
of  the  Society  be  given  to  the  Right  Rev.  the  Bishop  of  Tennessee, 
for  the  service  rendered  by  him  to  the  Society,  at  the  public  meeting 
recently  held  in  commemoration  of  its  third  Jubilee. 

"  (Signed) 

«J.  B.  CANTUAR." 

It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  the  reader,  to  see 
here  a  description  of  Prince  Albert,  as  he  appeared  to 
the  Bishop  on  that  occasion :  — 

"I  was  seated  on  the  platform,  with  the  lords,  nobles,  dukes, 
etc.,  and  not  more  than  eight  feet  from  the  Prince.  So  I  had  a 
good  opportunity  to  scan  his  features  well ;  and  I  am  constrained 
to  say,  that  after  a  rigid  scrutiny  of  his  external  appearance,  etc., 
I  never  have  seen  a  more  perfect  man.  He  is  by  much  the  finest- 
looking  man,  take  him  all  in  all,  that  I  have  seen  in  England  or 
out  of  it.  His  form  is  noble  and  sj'mmetrical,  at  least  six  feet,  or 
a  little  more,  in  height,  and  well-proportioned.  His  countenance 

1  Anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 


44  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

is  grave  and  dignified,  without  severity,  and  his  whole  bearing  that 
of  the  well-bred  and  accomplished  gentleman." 

The  next  day,  being  invited,  together  with  many 
other  Bishops,  to  dine  with  the  Lord  Mayor,  he  was, 
on  entering  the  ante-chamber,  subjected  to  a  temporary 
mortification,  through  the  blunder  of  a  servant  and  his 
own  want  of  acquaintance  with  the  multitudinous  form- 
alities practised  on  such  occasions.  The  dilemma  was 
momentary  only,  was  not  perceived  by  any  other  than 
himself,  and  was  soon  forgotten  after  receiving  a  hearty 
welcome  from  the  Lord  Mayor  and  the  assembled  guests. 
He  was  very  much  amused,  afterwards,  in  thinking  of 
the  new  title  —  Bishop  of  Ten-as'see  —  given  him  by  the 
usher  who  announced  him.  Not  feeling  in  a  very  good 
humor,  on  account  of  the  provoking  circumstances  of  his 
arrival,  and  all  the  formalities  of  the  reception  being  at 
an  end,  he  says,  — 

"  I  took  my  stand  in  the  company,  resolved  that  I  would  make 
advances  to  no  one,  but  that,  if  suiy  were  made,  the}7  should  come 
from  others.  This  I  very  soon  found  made  me  an  object  much 
sought  unto.  Very  many  persons  desired  an  introduction  to  me, 
and  expressed  the  high  gratification  they  felt,  the  day  before,  in 
hearing  my  speech  at  St.  Martin's." 

The  dinner  was  all  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  wealth 
and  cultivated  taste  to  make  it.  The  "  grace,"  or  bless- 
ing, was  sung  by  the  sweet  voices  of  a  choir  provided 
for  the  occasion  ;  and  the  whole  was  wound  up,  as  usual, 
with  abundant  speech-making. 

"In  response  to  the  Lord  Mayor's  toast,  expressive  of  good 
wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  and 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  45 

making  some  reference  to  myself  [the  Bishop  says],  I  arose,  and 
spoke,  as  nearly  as  I  remember,  as  follows  :  — 

"'My  Lord  Mayor,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, — I  beg  leave  to 
express  my  acknowledgments  for  the  honor  done  to  me  by  con- 
necting my  name  with  the  sentiment  which  has  just  been  pro- 
posed to  this  company,  and  to  return  my  thanks  for  the  kind 
terms  in  which  you  have  expressed  your  good  wishes  towards  the 
Church  of  which  I  am  a  Minister.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  make 
a  speech  to  your  Lordship  and  this  worshipful  assembly,  and  that 
for  two  very  substantial  reasons.  First.  I  am  forbidden  by  my 
physician ;  and,  secondly,  I  do  not  feel  capable  of  entertaining 
this  company  in  such  a  way  as  to  justify  my  occupying  their  time 
and  attention.  I  take  occasion,  however,  to  say  that  I  feel  a 
peculiar  satisfaction  in  bearing  testimony,  in  this  presence,  to  the 
deep  interest  which  is  felt  in  America  towards  the  people  and 
Church  of  England.  I  believe  it  is  reciprocal.  Why  should  it  not 
be  so?  We  are  of  the  same  blood  ;  we  are  descended  from  you  ; 
we  have  the  same  laws,,  and  nearly  the  same  institutions.  It  is  to 
our  mutual  interest  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  ;  and  we  are,  in 
a  great  measure,  necessary  to  each  other.  We  want  your  surplus 
labor,  to  fell  our  mighty  forests,  to  construct  our  roads,  open  the 
navigation  of  our  rivers,  and  develop  the  rich  resources  of  our  great 
and  growing  country.  You  want  our  raw  materials,  —  the  products 
of  our  soil, — to  give  employment  to  your  many  manufactories. 
You  have  evidences  of  our  friendly  disposition,  in  the  readiness 
with  which,  some  }*ears  ago,  we  supplied  some  portions  of  your 
suffering  population  with  food,  when  famine  was  apprehended,  in 
Ireland  especially,  from  the  failure  of  the  crops.  You  have  had 
more  recent  evidences  of  the  same  sentiments  of  friendly  regard, 
in  the  responses  made  by  the  Bishops  of  America  to  his  Grace  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  There  is  indeed  a  bond  of  union  far 
stronger  than  all  mere  secular  interests,  which  should  and  does 
unite  us  together,  —  a  bond  of  union  more  sacred  than  all  others, 
a  bond  more  indissoluble  than  that  which  unites  even  man  and 
wife.  "  What  is  that?"  you  will  ask.  It  is  the  bond  which 
unites  us  in  the  fellowship  or  "  communion  of  saints."  All  other 
unions,  even  the  nuptial  tie,  last  only  "till  death;"  but  this 


46  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

is  for  eternity.  We  shall  still  be  one  in  Christ  Jesus,  when  the 
changes  and  chances  of  this  mortal  life  are  over,  and  eternity 
shall  have  closed  in  with  all  its  mysterious  and  changeless  solem- 
nities. I  will  detain  }rou  but  a  moment  longer,  sir  ;  for,  as  I  said 
before,  I  am  forbidden  to  make  a  speech.  America  and  Great 
Britain  now  present  a  most  interesting  aspect  to  the  philanthro- 
pist, the  statesman,  and  the  Christian.  The  world  is  at  peace, 
and  furnishes  a  most  inviting  prospect  or  opportunity  to  introduce 
everywhere  the  blessings  of  civilization  and  religion  among  all 
the  tribes  and  families  of  man.  Between  our  respective  govern- 
ments, all  causes  of  difference  have  happily  passed  away.  Our 
boundar}'-lines  on  the  north-west,  as  well  as  north-east,  have  been 
satisfactorily  adjusted ;  and  the  only  object  of  contest  now  before 
us  seems  to  be,  which  shall  be  most  active  in  diffusing  the  glorious 
Gospel  of  God  and  our  blessed  Saviour.  Does  any  man  shrink 
back  from  the  magnitude  of  the  work?  Let  us  but  look  at  the 
beginning  of  Christianity,  and  see  the  most  striking  instance  of 
the  moral  sublime  the  world  has  ever  witnessed,  —  eleven  Apos- 
tles, and  five  hundred  brethren  at  most,  undertaking  to  overthrow 
all  other  systems  of  faith  and  hope,  and  to  establish  in  their  stead 
the  simple  system  of  the  Gospel.  Does  any  one  ask  for  authority 
to  undertake  this  work?  God  has  said,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  Who  asks  for 
higher  sanction  than  the  commands  of  heaven's  King  and  this 
world's  Judge?  Then  we  have  a  righteous  cause,  and  undoubted 
authority,  and  these  make  right.  Now,  sir,  we  have  a  saying 
often  quoted  as  originating  with  Brother  Jonathan,  and  which,  as  it 
embodies  a  sound  principle  of  philosophy,  and  withal  is  frequently 
misquoted,  I  beg  leave  to  state  correctly,  and  to  address  as  en- 
couragement to  us  all  in  the  performance  of  our  duty.  The  senti- 
ment is  not  "Go  ahead,"  as  generally  said;  but,  "Be  sure  you 
are  right,  then  go  ahead."  We  are  sure  we  are  right  in  this  case : 
we  have  nothing  to  do  but  go  ahead.  Sir,  his  Grace  the  Arch- 
bishop, a  little  while  ago,  concluded  with  a  quotation  of  Hoty 
Scripture.  In  humble  imitation  of  his  example,  I  would  only  say, 
as  representing  American  Churchmen,  to  our  brethren  in  the 
Church  of  England,  "  We  wish  you  good  luck  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.'  " 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  47 

The  dinner  was  followed  by  a  splendid  party  at  the 
residence  of  Miss  Burdett-Coutts,  who,  as  the  Bishop 
thought,  must  have  Worn,  that  evening,  diamonds  to  the 
value  of  a  half-million  of  dollars. 

After  a  few  weeks'  trial  of  the  hydropathic  treatment, 
the  Bishop,  finding  a  great  improvement  in  his  health, 
determined  to  make  a  trip  through  the  northern  part  of 
England,  and  through  Scotland  and  France  and  other 
parts  of  the  Continent.  As  a  fidus  Achates,  or  pleasant 
companion  in  travel,  he  was  rejoiced  to  find  all  that  he 
wanted  in  Rev.  A.  Cleveland  Coxe,  D.D.,  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  whom  he  had  recently  met  at  the  dinner  of  the 
Lord  Mayor,  and  who  gladly  consented  to  accompany 
him.  Two  spirits  more  genial,  and  congenial  in  all 
points,  are  rarely  to  be  found.  The  chief  places  touched 
by  them  in  England  were  Cambridge,  Ely,  Lincoln,  York, 
Durham,  and  Abbotsford.  In  addition  to  the  lochs  and 
mountains  of  Scotland,  the  cities  of  Edinburgh,  Stir- 
ling, Aberdeen,  and  Inverness  were  successively  visited. 
Nor  were  lona,  Staffa,  and  Fingal's  Cave  forgotten. 
From  Scotland  they  passed  over  to  Ireland ;  thence 
through  England  to  Dover,  Calais,  and  the  capital  of 
France.  Here  they  met  with  many  American  friends 
(among  them  Dr.  Mercer  and  his  invalid  daughter),  and 
remained  for  some  days  amid  the  delights  of  gay  and 
splendid  Paris.  The  mountains,  lakes,  and  chief  towns 
of  Switzerland  came  next  under  view,  as  also  parts  of 
Prussia  and  Belgium. 

On  his  return  to  Paris,  Sept.  27,  the  Bishop  heard  of 
the  death  of  Miss  Anna  Mercer,  and  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  Doctor  to  leave  Liverpool  for  New  York 


48  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

on  the  30th.  This  at  once  put  an  end  to  his  pleasant 
journeyings,  leaving  nnvisited  many  places  and  scenes 
which  from  early  childhood  he  had  longed,  but  hardly 
dared  to  hope,  that  he  might  see.  Prominent  among 
them  was  the  Holy  Land.  This  was  doubtless  a  great 
disappointment  to  the  Bishop;  for,  in  writing  to  the 
Rev.  T.  W.  H.  just  before  setting  out  on  his  voyage, 
he  says, — 

"I  have  a  strong  desire  to  see  Jerusalem,  and  stand  on  Mount 
Olivet.  Methinks  I  could  pray  with  fervor  on  that  spot.  I  care 
not  about  classic  ground,  or  objects  of  mere  curiosity ;  but  I  want 
to  behold,  in  the  freshness  of  a  living  and  present  reality,  the  local- 
ities which  are  associated  in  my  mind  with  the  great  truths  of  Re- 
demption. This  seems  to  me  to  be  a  natural  feeling,  and  may,  I 
think,  be  turned  to  profitable  account.  How  I  would  rejoice,  my 
dear  Humes,  to  kneel  bj*  }'our  side,  and  pray  upon  Mount  Olivet, 
or  on  lovely,  mournful  Calvary  !  " 

The  relations  of  the  Bishop  and  Dr.  Mercer  were  of 
a  tender  and  endearing  kind;  and  it  is  believed  that 
it  was  chiefly  upon  the  liberal  bounty  of  the  one,  that 
the  other  was  enabled,  by  travel,  to  regain  his  health. 
Without  an  hour's  delay,  the  Bishop  hastened  to  over- 
take and  accompany  his  afflicted  friend,  and  return  with 
him  to  his  now  childless  and  cheerless  home.  Anna 
Mercer  was  a  girl  of  true  piety,  lovely  in  disposition  and 
in  person,  the  only  child  of  a  doting  father,  and  the  sole 
prospective  heir  to  his  great  wealth.  That  she  should 
thus  have  been  cut  off  in  her  nineteenth  year,  was,  as 
the  Bishop  wrote  on  hearing  of  it,  usad,  sad,  SAD!" 
The  Doctor,  with  his  embalmed  charge,  was  found  at 
Liverpool,  ready  to  embark.  They  sailed  Oct.  2,  in  the 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  49 

steamer  "  Atlantic,"  and,  after  a  boisterous  voyage, 
reached  New  York  on  the  15th.  The  next  day,  the 
Bishop  writes  in  his  diary :  — 

"Awoke  this  morning,  after  a  comfortable  night's  rest.  I  felt 
it  pleasant  to  be  safe  on  land  ;  and  I  endeavored  to  return  thanks 
to  God  for  His  great  goodness  and  mercy  in  bringing  me  safe 
through  the  perils  of  the  sea,  to  my  native  county." 

It  is  gratifying  to  record  here,  that  the  health  of  the 
Bishop  was  fully  restored ;  and  that  it  was  a  lasting 
pleasure  to  him,  to  reflect  on  the  many  kind  and  unex- 
pected attentions  which  he  had  received.  Among  the 
many  whose  hospitality  he  had  enjoyed,  he  makes  spe- 
cial mention  of  Mr.  George  Gabain  and  his  excellent 
wife,  whose  house  was  his  home  during  nearly  the 
whole  of  his  stay  in  London. 

After  a  necessary  detention  of  a  few  days  in  New 
York,  the  party  set  out  on  their  return  South,  by  way 
of  Cincinnati,  Pittsburgh,  and  Louisville ;  but  met  with 
many  trying  and  provoking  detentions.  It  was  there- 
fore the  29th  of  March  before  the  Bishop  again  saw  his 
children  around  him,  and  felt  once  more  the  delights  of 
home.  In  his  diary  of  that  day,  he  writes  :  — 

14  And  here  I  now  find  myself,  after  an  absence  of  more  than 
twelve  months,  once  more  under  my  own  roof,  and  in  restored 
health.  How  much  cause  have  I  to  be  thankful !  Multiplied  have 
been  the  favors  which  a  gracious  and  kind  God  hath  bestowed  upon 
me,  and  I  desire  to  feel  humbly  and  truly  thankful.  But  it  is  not 
in  man's  heart  to  feel  the  gratitude  which  his  lips  would  fain 
acknowledge.  It  is  of  God  alone  to  give  the  ability  to  be  truly 
thankful.  Lord,  tune  my  heart  to  love  and  praise." 


50  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

But  he  had  returned  to  meet  on  the  threshold  one  of 
the  sorest  trials  of  his  life.     Three  days  after  his  arrival, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  F.  G.  S.,  whom  he  had  left  in  the  success- 
ful management  of  the  Female  Institute,  came  to  make 
confession  to  him  of  conduct  disgraceful  to  a  Christian 
man,  and  especially  to  one  in  so  responsible  and  confi- 
dential  a   position.     The    magnitude    of  the    situation 
broke  at  once  upon  the  astounded  and  distressed  Bishop. 
The  honor  of  the  Church  would  demand  a  painful  act 
of  discipline  at  his  hands ;  and  here  before  his  view  was 
the  probable  downfall  of  an  Institution  which  for  more 
than  fifteen  years  had  been  the  subject  of  his  prayers 
and  labors,  and  to  build  up  which  he  had  risked  both 
health  and  life.     He  could  not  help  feeling,  too,  as  if 
his  own  reputation  were  at  stake,  although  conscious  of 
having  done  all  in  his  power  to  make  that  Institution 
worthy  of  the   confidence  of  its  patrons.     Toward  the 
unhappy  offender,  also,  he  felt  the  deepest  pity,  while 
pronouncing  upon  him  the  sentence  of  suspension  from 
the  exercise  of  the  Ministry.     By  a  unanimous  vote  of 
the  Trustees,  Mr.  S.  was   promptly  dismissed  from  the 
charge    of  the   Institute ;    and  its  whole    management 
thrown  upon  the  Bishop,  thus  greatly  increasing    an 
amount  of  labor  already  hard  to  be  borne.     Human 
language  is  too  weak  to  express  the  suffering  which  he 
that  day  endured.     That  night  he  wrote  in  his  diary :  — 

"  I  have  passed  a  wretched  day,  and  am  quite  sick,  — sick  in 
body,  and  sick  of  heart.  But  ought  I  to  complain,  when  I  see  the 
misery  of  this  man,  and  the  unhappiness  of  his  poor  wife?  Lord 
God  of  mercy  and  love,  pity  and  forgive  us  !  ...  Unhappy  man  ! 
may  God  grant  you  grace  to  repent,  and  may  He  pardon  also  my 
crying  sins/' 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  51 

In  his  Address  to  his  Convention  of  that  year,  he 
thus  returns  to  this  painful  subject:  — 

"I  would  bespeak  for  this  man  your  sympathy ;  and  not  only 
that,  but  your  prayers,  brethren,  that  he  may  recover  from  the  pit 
into  which  he  has  fallen,  and  regain  the  position  of  confidence 
which  he  once  occupied." 

A  statement  of  the  reasons  for  the  suspension  and 
dismissal  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  S.  was  prepared  by  the  Bishop, 
and  published  by  the  authority  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
Of  this  he  says, — 

u  God,  who  knows  my  heart,  also  knows  that  this  has  been  to 
me  both  a  difficult  and  a  painful  task.  I  have  tried  not  to  wound 
the  feelings  of  Mr.  S.,  and  especially  would  I  avoid  any  thing  that 
might  add  to  the  deep  affliction  of  his  family.  .  .  .  One  may  in- 
dulge in  feelings  of  pity,  as  much  as  he  please,  and  still  do  no 
injury.  But  there  is  a  point  beyond  which  we  must  riot  go,  in  our 
forbearance  and  leniency  towards  offenders,  when  acting  in  the  dis- 
charge of  public  and  official  duty.  I  have  tried  very  hard  to  follow 
the  right  path  in  the  difficult  circumstances  in  which  I  find  myself 
placed." 

A  few  days  later,  he  writes :  — 

"  I  have  heard  with  surprise  that  a  paper  has  been  circulated, 
and  signed  by  a  respectable  portion  of  the  citizens  of  Columbia, 
indorsing  the  character  of  Rev.  Mr.  F.  G.  S.,  and  assuring  him  of 
their  unabated  confidence  and  support.  We  may  well  exclaim,  with 
the  old  Roman,  In  quibus  temporibus  incidimus!  One  is  almost 
disposed  to  ask  what  new  race  of  people  has  sprung  up  around  him, 
and  among  whom  does  he  find  his  lot  cast." 

So  severely  was  this  blow  felt  by  the  friends  of  the 
Institute,  that  some  of  the  Trustees  proposed  to  convert 
it  into  a  boys'  school ;  and  others,  to  sell  it,  and  build  in 


52  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

some  other  place :  but  the  Bishop,  with  a  few  more 
hopeful  friends,  resolved  to  uphold  it  and  carry  it  for- 
ward. But  Columbia  could  no  longer  be  the  Bishop's 
residence.  The  place  and  the  people  among  whom  he 
had  spent  seventeen  of  the  best  years  of  his  life,  in 
closest  intimacy,  must  now  be  visited  only  in  the  way 
of  official  duty.  His  kind  heart  cherished  no  spark  of 
resentment  for  the  treatment  he  had  received ;  but,  being 
no  more  than  man,  he  could  but  feel  as  a  man,  as  well 
as  a  Christian. 

In  the  Bishop's  Address  to  his  Convention  of  1852, 
after  speaking  of  this  unpleasant  duty  which  he  had 
been  compelled  to  perform,  he  says, — 

"  If  any  man  inquire  why  I  feel  so  painful  an  interest  in  this 
matter,  this  is  my  answer :  I  am  a  public  teacher  of  religion,  and 
I  claim  to  have  done  as  much  for  the  cause  of  female  education  as 
any  other  man  amongst  us.  I  have  spent  the  best  energies  of  soul 
and  bocty,  and  passed  the  most  vigorous  years  of  my  life,  in  its 
cause.  I  am  setting  up  no  boastful  claim,  when  I  sa}T  thst  but  for 
Bishop  Polk,  Mr.  A.  O.  Harris,  Francis  B.  Fogg,  and  myself,  the 
Columbia  Female  Institute  would  never  have  been  in  existence ; 
that  but  for  my  personal  and  individual  exertions,  several  years 
after  Mr.  S.'s  administration  had  begun,  it  would  have  been  utterly 
and  hopelessly  ruined  by  its  load  of  debt.  For  five  or  six  years  I 
labored  incessantly,  being  sometimes  absent  for  six  months  from 
my  home  and  family ,  in  my  efforts  to  raise  funds  for  its  relief.  I 
have  worked  hard,  and  worked  long,  without  hope  of  fee  or  reward 
other  than  the  humble  expectation  of  being  serviceable  to  the  peo- 
ple among  whom  Providence  had  cast  my  lot.  And  now  to  have 
injustice  added  to  ingratitude,  and  insult  heaped  upon  injury,  is 
more  than  I  feel  disposed  to  bear  without  making  this  my  solemn 
protest  against  it,  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the  face  of  this  Con- 
vention." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  53 

The  Bishop's  diary  will  painfully  show  how  much  and 
what  prolonged  labor  it  cost  him  to  pay  that  debt.  By 
his  unparalleled  exertions  it  was  finally  extinguished; 
and  it  must  be  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  education  in 
the  South,  and  especially  to  the  friends  and  admirers  of 
Bishop  Otey,  to  know  that  the  Columbia  Female  Insti- 
tute has  now  for  nearly  twenty  years  been  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition,  under  the  judicious  management  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  George  Beckett  and  family. 

Let  it  here  be  borne  in  mind,  that,  in  the  exercise  of 
this  act  of  discipline,  the  Bishop  had  proceeded  upon  no 
doubtful  evidence,  but  upon  the  voluntary,  unreserved, 
and  written  confession  of  the  offender,  and  had  kept 
strictly  within  the  bounds  of  the  authority  intrusted  to 
him.  He  therefore  felt  keenly  the  alienation  and  harsh 
judgment  of  those  citizens  of  Columbia  who  had  once 
been  among  his  warmest  supporters  and  approvers. 
But  the  path  of  duty  was  clear  before  him ;  his  best 
judgment  had  dictated  his  course ;  the  wisest  and  cool- 
est heads  of  his  people  both  justified  and  commended 
his  firmness  in  taking  and  holding  so  noble  a  stand  in 
behalf  of  female  purity,  official  integrity,  and  character 
of  the  Church.  It  was  also  a  confirming  and  consol- 
ing reflection  to  him,  that  throughout  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding he  was  upheld  by  the  unanimous  approval  of 
an  able  Board  of  Trustees ;  and,  still  further,  that  the 
sentence  which  he  felt  obliged  to  pronounce  was,  by 
the  offender  himself,  confessed  to  be  a  milder  one  than 
he  expected. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  painful  and  general  sen- 
sation throughout  our  Church,  produced  by  the  trial  of 


54  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

the  distinguished  Bishop  of  New  Jersey.  On  account 
of  Bishop  Otey's  distance  from  the  scene  of  action,  and 
his  having  to  rely  for  information  chiefly  on  rumor,  and 
the  partial  statements  of  the  press,  he  at  first  strongly 
disapproved  of  the  early  proceedings  of  the  court ;  but, 
when  the  issue  was  reached,  no  one  in  the  Church  more 
heartily  rejoiced  at  it.  The  writer  of  this  Memoir,  hav- 
ing been  a  member  of  that  court,  bears  cheerful  witness 
to  the  fact  that  the  happy  termination  of  that  deeply 
interesting  trial  was,  in  great  part,  due  to  the  wise  and 
temperate  exertions  of  Bishop  Otey. 

A  new  turn  may  now  be  seen  in  the  Bishop's  affairs. 
Columbia  must  cease  to  be  his  home.  Where  shall  be 
his  next  resting-place  —  if  rest  for  such  a  one  is  to  be 
found  ?  It  must  be  in  some  place  where  the  population 
is  sufficient  in  number  to  offer  a  suitable  field  for  his 
labors.  In  Memphis  he  had  many  devoted  friends,  who 
were  pressing  him  with  offers  and  invitations  ;  and  the 
finger  of  Providence  seemed  to  point  that  way.  Accord- 
ingly the  12th  of  October,  1852,  found  him  and  his 
family  settled,  in  tolerable  comfort,  in  the  suburbs  of 
that  city,  until  a  better  and  more  permanent  abode  could 
be  prepared  in  the  midst  of  its  population. 

When  he  was  making  his  preparations  for  leaving 
Columbia,  he  could  not  hide  from  himself  a  feeling  of 
depression.  But  he  writes  :  — 

"  Why  should  I  indulge  in  melancholy  or  depressing  thoughts, 
when  in  the  exercise  of  my  best  judgment,  and  after  counsel  with 
friends,  I  am  pursuing  that  course  which  promises  to  give  me  abil- 
ity and  opportunity  to  be  most  useful  to  my  fellow-men?  If  I  am 
in  the  path  of  duty,  let  me  not  give  way  to  feeling." 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  55 

At  the  time  of  his  removal  to  Memphis,  there  was  but 
one  Episcopal  House  of  Worship  in  the  place  ;  viz.,  Cal- 
vary Church,  then  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  Wheat. 
The  city  having  then  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants, 
the  need  of  another  House  of  Worship  began  to  be  felt. 
The  coming  of  the  Bishop,  it  was  hoped,  would  contrib- 
ute materially  to  that  end ;  and  so  it  did,  but  in  no  very 
encouraging  way  at  the  outset.  The  following  is  from 
the  Bishop's  diary :  — 

u  DEC.  12.  This  morning  at  11  A.M.,  I  commenced  celebrating 
the  worship  of  God  in  4  High-tower  Hall,'  a  room  over  an  oyster- 
saloon,  and  having  also  a  dancing-academy  in  an  adjacent  apart- 
ment. The  hall  is  to  be  used  as  a  billiard-room  during  the  week, 
while  it  is  appropriated  to  Divine  Worship  on  Sunday.  The  asso- 
ciation is  certainty  bjr  no  means  desirable.  But  it  seems  that  we 
can  do  no  better ;  and  the  question  arises,  Shall  we  worship  in 
the  '  house  of  Rimmon,'  or  not  worship  at  all?  " 

The  following  day,  the  Bishop  succeeded  in  collecting 
among  his  friends  a  sum  sufficient  to  purchase  a  small 
organ. 

The  text  of  his  first  sermon  was  Eom.  xii.  1 :  "I 
beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God, 
that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service."  Nor 
was  this  subject  one  taken  at  random  from  the  number 
which  were  on  hand.  He  intended  it  as  a  keynote  to 
the  general  tenor  of  his  subsequent  discourses,  in  wrhich 
he  was  resolved  to  lift  up  his  voice  against  the  too  free 
and  frequent  indulgence  of  Church-members  in  the 
fashionable  amusements  of  the  day.  The  Bishop's 
views  on  this  subject  would  be  called  by  many  "  Puri- 


56  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

tanical ; "  but,  if  he  erred,  it  was  certainly  on  the  safe 
side. 

The  following  extract  from  his  diary  may  interest  the 
reader,  as  it  presents  so  gratifying  an  evidence  that  the 
faithful  labors  of  this  man  of  God  had  not  been  without 
the  reward  which  he  most  desired.  It  may  also  serve 
to  show  the  brethren  of  Christ's  Church,  Nashville,  from 
what  an  unpromising  beginning  their  Parish  has  grown 
to  its  present  strength. 

"  SUNDAY,  March  28,  1852.  I  preached  in  Christ  Church  this 
morning,  to  a  large  congregation.  I  am  often  deepl}*  impressed, 
when  before  a  congregation  in  this  House,  as  I  contrast  its  present 
condition  with  what  appeared  to  be  the  outward  form  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Nashville,  some  twent3*-five  years  ago.  I  was 
then  the  only  Episcopal  Clergyman  within  two  hundred  miles  of  the 
place  ;  and,  after  teaching  school  five  days  in  the  week,  would  ride 
on  horseback  to  Nashville,  on  alternate  Saturdays,  and  preach  to 
some  half-dozen  persons,  two  only  of  whom  were  communicants. 
I  knew  and  felt,  at  the  time,  that  I  was  looked  upon  with  contempt, 
if  not  despised,  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people." 

The  encouraging  fact  may  now  be  added,  that,  at  the 
very  time  of  preaching  that  sermon,  the  Bishop  could 
thank  God  for  sixteen  organized  Parishes,  several  Mis- 
sionary Stations,  and  twenty  Clergymen,  one-half  of 
whom  were  distinguished  for  ability  as  well  as  faithful 
service. 

In  the  Bishop's  Address  to  his  Convention  of  1853, 
after  stating  that  the  deaths  of  Bishops  Gadsden,  Hen- 
shaw,  and  Chase  had  followed  in  rapid  succession,  with- 
in the  past  Conventional  year,  he  thus  speaks  of  Bishop 
Ives :  — 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otcy.  57 

"  But  another  of  our  Bishops  has  fallen,  and  in  a  different  way. 
He  has  put  off  his  armor,  but  not  at  the  command  of  the  Captain 
of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  but  at  the  call  and  at  the  feet  of  him,  who, 
arrogating  that  title,  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that 
is  called  God.  He  has  abandoned  his  Diocese,  and  made  formal 
submission  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  He  has  openly  abjured  the 
faith  which  he  once  preached,  and  has  gained  the  unenviable 
notoriety  of  being  the  first  of  his  Order,  in  our  Church,  to  make 
a  formal  submission  to  the  Roman  Pontiff.  How  can  we  fail  to 
mourn  over  his  fall,  in  the  bitterness  of  a  sorrow  almost  with- 
out hope,  and  in  sadness  of  heart  exclaim,  '  Alas  !  my  brother ! ' 
Whilst  we  deplore  his  treachery,  let  us  pray  God  to  recover  him 
from  the  snare  in  which  he  has  been  taken." 

During  this  year  the  Bishop  was  truly  thankful  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Nashville, 
and  Grace  Church,  Memphis.  He  was  further  gratified 
at  seeing  how  rapidly  the  Female  Institute  was  recover- 
ing from  the  sad  effects  of  Mr.  S.'s  misconduct.  But, 
though  it  was  a  living  and  growing  body,  it  was  without 
a  head.  In  North  Carolina  there  was  an  old  friend  and 
classmate  of  the  Bishop,  Mr.  William  H.  Hardin,  with 
his  accomplished  wife,  who  were  known  to  be  every  way 
fitted  for  that  position.  The  Bishop  undertook  the  task 
of  visiting  them,  and  happily  succeeded  in  engaging  their 
services.  On  his  return,  he  had  the  pleasure  of  spend- 
ing a  day  or  two  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
his  Alma  Mater,  and  thus  feelingly  records  the  pleasant 
but  mournful  recollections  that  then  crowded  upon 
him:  — 

"  JULY  24.  A  day  long  to  be  remembered  !  I  am  at  my  Alma 
Mater,  at  a  place  where  I  passed  some  of  the  most  jo3'ons  days  of 
my  life.  Chapel  Hill !  how  many  overpowering  emotions  does  that 


58  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

name  excite !  how  many  tender  recollections  does  it  not  revive ! 
how  many  sweet  and  holy  memories  of  the  blessed  dead,  of  those 
whose  images  cling  around  my  heart,  does  it  not  bring  up !  " 

Before  his  return,  he  also  paid  a  short  visit  to  the 
home  of  his  childhood. 

On  the  approach  of  the  fourth  day  of  July,  of  this 
year,  he  showed  his  patriotism,  as  well  as  his  piety,  by 
putting  forth  the  following  notice  to  his  Clergy :  — 

DEARLY  BELOVED  BRETHREN,  —  The  anniversary  of  our  National 
Independence  occurs  this  year  on  Sunday.  I  set  forth  the  enclosed 
Form  to  be  then  used  in  all  our  congregations,  after  the  General 
Thanksgiving,  at  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer ;  and  respectfully 
request  that  a  portion  of  the  offerings  made  by  the  people  on  that 
day  ma}7  be  appropriated  to  aid  the  American  Colonization  Society 
in  its  patriotic  and  Christian  efforts  to  remove  the  free  people  of 
color,  willing  to  emigrate,  to  the  Western  Coast  of  Africa. 
Your  faithful  friend  and  affectionate  Pastor, 

JAS.  H.  OTEY. 

1853.  It  was  at  the  General  Convention  of  this 
year,  that  the  good  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  with  others,  pre- 
sented his  Memorial  to  the  House  of  Bishops,  praying 
that  measures  might  be  devised,  if  practicable,  to  render 
our  ecclesiastical  system  more  efficient  in  its  influence 
upon  our  population,  and  adapt  it  more  to  the  actual 
wants  and  circumstances  of  a  nominally  Christian  coun- 
try. The  object  of  the  Memorialists  was  certainly  a 
very  desirable  one,  but  many  and  great  obstacles  were 
to  be  seen  in  the  way.  Who  was  there  that  did  not 
desire  to  see  not  only  more  love  among  Christians,  but 
a  nearer  agreement  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  and,  if 
practicable,  in  organic  unity  ?  But  where  should  the 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  59 

work  begin?  and  who  would  take  the  lead]  After 
much  discussion,  a  Commission  was  appointed  by  the 
House  of  Bishops,  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration, 
and  to  make  a  report  to  the  next  meeting.  The  chair- 
manship or  presidency  of  that  important  Commission 
was,  by  unanimous  consent,  conferred  on  Bishop  Otey. 
In  the  performance  of  that  duty,  he  was  necessarily 
absent  from  his  Convention  of  1854,  and  burthened  with 
an  extensive  correspondence.  The  Commission  held 
three  meetings,  in  1854,  1855,  and  1856.  Many  com- 
munications were  received,  and  much  deliberation  was 
given  to  the  subject.  The  report  which  they  made 
to  the  House  of  Bishops  in  1856  led  to  the  passage 
of  sundry  important  resolutions ;  the  chief  of  which 
was,  — 

u  That  in  view  of  the  desirableness  of  union  among  Christians, 
and  as  a  pledge  of  willingness  to  communicate  and  receive  infor- 
mation tending  to  that  end,  and  in  order  to  conference  if  occasion 
or  opportunit}'  should  occur,  this  House  will  appoint,  by  ballot,  a 
committee  of  five  Bishops,  as  an  organ  of  communication  or  con- 
ference with  such  Christian  bodies  or  individuals  as  may  desire  it ; 
to  be  entitled  'The  Commission  on  Church  Unity/  ' 

But  this  was  not  the  only  good  resulting  from  the 
Memorial,  and  the  labors  of  the  Commission.  Though 
followed  by  no  immediate  and  striking  effect,  the  lead- 
ing design  and  prayer  of  the  Memorialists  began  to  be 
generally  and  more  favorably  regarded.  Like  leaven 
it  worked  and  spread,  until  it  enlisted  in  its  behalf  the 
more  thoughtful  and  influential  minds  of  the  Church. 
And  to  it  may  be  traced  the  first  exhibition  of  that 
motive  power  which  now,  under  God,  is  endeavoring 


60  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

to  enrich  our  public  forms  of  devotion,  and  adapt  the 
Prayer-Book  to  the  larger  number  and  greater  edifica- 
tion of  our  people.  To  this  source  also  are  we,  in  good 
part,  indebted  for  the  introduction  of  lay  helpers  into  the 
ministrations  of  the  Church,  and  the  inauguration  of 
those  societies  and  guilds,  both  male  and  female,  which 
are  now  so  largely  adding  to  the  efficiency  of  our  or- 
dained Ministry. 

In  January,  1858,  the  house  near  Memphis,  in  which 
the  Bishop  was  residing,  caught  fire,  and  was  burned 
to  the  ground.  His  loss,  however,  was  but  little,  as  the 
house  had  been  only  rented  for  his  temporary  use.  It 
merely  subjected  him  to  the  trouble  of  moving  into 
another  hired  residence,  while  awaiting  the  completion 
of  a  more  permanent  one  within  the  city. 

In  noticing  the  earlier  life  of  Bishop  Otey,  it  was 
stated,  that,  during  the  whole  of  his  Collegiate  course, 
he  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Faculty  of  that  Insti- 
tution, as  well  as  by  his  companions.  As  an  evidence 
of  this,  he  for  some  years  held  a  friendly  correspondence 
with  one  of  its  Professors,  Rev.  Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell,  a 
Presbyterian  divine,  after  whom  the  highest  mountain- 
peak  in  North  Carolina  has  been  named.  It  was  on 
this  mountain  that  Dr.  Mitchell  lost  his  life  while  en- 
gaged in  completing  one  of  his  surveys.  His  friends, 
at  his  interment,  passing  by  the  minister  of  their  own 
denomination,  invited  Bishop  Otey  to  be  the  preacher 
on  that  occasion.  He  could  not  find  it  in  his  heart  to 
refuse ;  and  to  this  friendly  office  devoted  a  good  portion 
of  the  month  of  June,  at  a  time  when  private  cares  and 
official  duties  were  pressing  upon  him  with  unusual  force. 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  61 

To  his  Convention  of  1856,  the  Bishop  speaks,  with 
much  gratification,  of  the  improved  condition  of  the 
Institute  ;  saying  that  it  was  now  "  prepared  better  than 
ever,  under  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardin,  to  instruct  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  the  pupils  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  life,  and  the  responsibilities  of  our  entire  be- 
ing." He  reports,  also,  that  he  had  confirmed  only  one 
hundred  persons  since  the  last  Convention ;  and  then 
adds  this  significant  but  apparently  contradictory  re- 
mark :  — 

"  That  our  efforts  during  the  past  year  have  been  productive 
of  so  little  fruit,  is  doubtless  attributable,  in  some  measure,  to 
other  causes  than  the  prevailing  ignorance  and  prejudice  in  rela- 
tion to  our  Church.  Among  these  I  would  mention  the  prosper- 
ous condition  of  the  laity  in  all  secular  pursuits.  Strange  and 
even  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  it  is  a  truth  established  by 
all  history,  and  proven  by  all  experience,  that  a  very  prosperous 
worldly  condition,  and  high  attainments  in  the  divine  life,  very 
rarely  consist  together.  Nothing  is  more  obvious,  to  a  thoughtful 
and  observant  Clergyman,  than  this  ;  and  yet  nothing  is  less  con- 
sidered by  a  mind  blinded  by  worldly  success." 

By  invitation  of  the  students  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  the  Bishop  preached  their  Commence- 
ment Sermon  in  1857,  on  the  1st  of  June.  On  his  way 
to  the  University,  he  found  the  Convention  of  that  Dio- 
cese in  session  at  Salisbury,  and  made  to  their  Commit- 
tee a  full  exposition  of  his  views  and  plans  touching 
the  proposed  University. 

The  year  1857  was,  to  the  Bishop,  rather  an  event- 
ful one.  The  organization  of  another  Church  (Advent) 
in  Nashville  was  soon  followed  by  beginning  the  work 


62  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

on  the  future  St.  Mary's  Chapel ;  a  suitable  site  for  the 
purpose  having  been  given  by  Col.  Robert  Brinkley. 
And  now,  also,  the  long-looked-for  ideal  of  a  Literary 
and  Theological  Institution,  which  for  thirty  years  had 
filled  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  Bishop,  began  to  take 
form  and  substance  in  the  projected  University  of  the 
South. 

In  his  Annual  Address  of  1857,  after  reminding  the 
Convention  of  the  many  and  earnest  attempts  which 
he  had  made  to  press  this  subject  upon  them,  he  an- 
nounces, with  joy  and  thankfulness,  the  long-looked-for 
day;  saying  that  a  concurrence  of  providential  circum- 
stances was  at  last  inviting  to  its  consideration,  and  open- 
ing a  way  to  the  attainment  of  what  he  had  until  then 
enjoyed  only  in  hopes  born  but  to  die  in  the  hour  of 
their  birth.  He  then  says  more  explicitly  that 

"A  movement  has  been  made,  outside  of  the  Diocese,  —  in 
which  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  whom  we  all  know  and  honor  for 
his  large  and  enlightened  views,  has  taken  the  lead,  —  which  looks 
to  the  establishment  and  endowment  of  an  institution  on  a  most 
liberal  scale.  It  is  proposed  to  unite  the  means  and  efforts  of  the 
members  of  our  own  communion,  and  of  others  friendly  to  the  en- 
terprise, within  the  ten  Southern  and  South-western  Dioceses,  in 
founding  a  University  which  shall  furnish  the  youth  of  this  vast 
and  important  region  with  ample  facilities  for  enlarged  literary 
and  professional  education." 

Into  this  grand  and  comprehensive  enterprise,  Bishop 
Otey  entered  with  all  the  warmth  of  his  noble  and  gen- 
erous nature.  He  was  afterwards  elected  its  first  Chan- 
cellor, and  continued  as  such  to  preside  in  its  councils 
until  his  death  in  1863. 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  63 

By  a  general  agreement  among  the  Southern  Bishops, 
the  fourth  day  of  July,  1857,  and  the  summit  of  the 
Lookout  Mountain,  near  Chattanooga,  were  appointed 
as  the  time  and  place  for  the  formal  organization  of 
the  proposed  Institution.  Bishop  Otey,  by  request, 
delivered  an  address  suited  to  the  occasion.  It  was 
marked  with  his  usual  ability,  and  as  patriotic  in  senti- 
ment as  any  lover  of  the  Union  could  have  wished  it  to 
be.  There  were  present  at  this  meeting  the  Bishops 
of  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  Georgia,  Mississippi,  South 
Carolina,  Alabama,  and  Florida,  together  with  some 
of  the  leading  Clergymen  and  laymen  of  all  the  South- 
ern Dioceses.  The  style  and  title  of  "  University  of 
the  South  "  was  proposed  to  be  given  to  the  enterprise ; 
a  Board  of  Trustees  was  appointed ;  Bishop  Otey  was 
made  its  first  President ;  and  every  necessary  measure 
was  devised  to  begin  the  work  without  delay,  and  on 
the  most  extensive  scale. 

In  the  next  meeting,  at  Montgomery,  in  the  follow- 
ing November,  a  charter  was  adopted ;  the  name  here- 
tofore proposed,  viz.,  "University  of  the  South,"  was 
adopted  by  general  consent ;  and  the  Bishops  of  Geor- 
gia and  Louisiana  were  appointed  general  commission- 
ers to  canvass  each  Diocese  for  subscriptions  to  the 
funds  of  the  Institution. 

As  the  giving  of  this  name  to  the  undertaking  was 
thought,  at  the  time,  to  intimate  something  of  a  sec- 
tional or  anti-Northern  feeling  on  the  part  of  its  found- 
ers, the  writer  of  this  Memoir  hopes  that  he  may  be 
excused  in  stating  that  it  was  upon  his  own  motion 
that  that  name  was  first  proposed;  and  that,  at  that 


64  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

hour,  he  gloried  in  being  a  citizen  and  a  lover  of 
an  undivided  country.  That  the  proposition  was  not 
promptly  adopted  at  the  previous  meeting,  was  owing 
solely  to  the  fear  of  some  of  the  more  sensitive  of  its 
friends,  that  it  might  have  that  appearance  to  unthink- 
ing and  prejudiced  minds. 

But  a  much  stronger  assurance  of  the  honesty  and 
patriotism  of  that  hour  may  be  learned  from  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  Bishop  Otey's  sermon  on  that  occa- 
sion :  — 

"I  must  now  notice  an  intimation  that  this  movement  of  ours 
wears  the  appearance  of  sectionalism,  —  an  apprehension  that  it 
may,  however  without  design,  tend  to  weaken  the  bonds  of  our 
present  Union.  I  repel  the  unfounded  suspicion.  It  is  supported 
by  no  act  or  sentiment  or  word  of  those  who  originated  this  enter- 
prise, and  have  labored  for  its  accomplishment  up  to  the  present 
hour.  I  must  meet  this  apprehension,  not  out  of  regard  to  those 
who  would  willingly  entertain  it,  but  of  those  whose  love  for  the 
Union  makes  them  tremblingly  alive  to  the  semblance  of  any  thing 
inimical  to  its  prosperity.  Why  should  this  enterprise  be  deemed 
sectional,  rather  than  national?  Is  it  because  we  have  used  the 
name  of  '  University  of  the  South  '  ?  The  name  is  one  of  conven- 
ient description ;  it  is  no  party  war-cry,  no  sectional  pass-word. 
All  such  interpretations  we  utterly  disclaim.  Is  it  because  it  is 
to  be  founded  on  a  Southern  soil,  and  must  promote  chiefly  the 
interests  of  those  contiguous  to  it?  Some  geographical  position 
it  needs  must  have.  The  very  nature  of  the  case  requires  it  to  be 
in  our  midst.  Its  location  looks  simply  to  the  wants  of  a  region 
greater  in  extent  by  7,280  square  miles  than  the  original  thirteen 
States  of  the  Union  ;  a  region  whose  urgent  necessities  can  be  met 
only  by  an  institution  set  up  within  its  borders.  Do  we  smy 
wrong  to  our  brethren,  do  we  violate  any  pledge  of  friendship 
or  brotherhood,  do  we  evince  any  jealousy  or  distrust,  when,  in 
the  discharge  of  a  solemn  responsibility,  we  provide  for  our  own, 
and  seek  to  elevate  the  society  of  which  we  are  members  ? 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  65 

"We  affirm  that  our  aim  is  eminently  national  and  patriotic, 
and,  as  such,  should  commend  itself  to  every  lover  of  his  country. 
We  rear  this  day  an  altar,  not  of  political  schism,  but  an  altar  of 
witness  (vide  Josh,  xxii.)  that  we  are  of  one  faith  and  one  house- 
hold. We  contemplate  no  strife,  save  a  generous  rivalry  with  our 
brethren  as  to  who  shall  furnish  to  this  great  Republic  the  truest 
men,  the  truest  Christians,  and  the  truest  patriots.  Again,  I 
repel  the  suspicion  because  of  its  injustice  to  our  brethren  of  the 
North.  Not  a  Bishop,  Clergyman,  or  layman  to  whom  this  sub- 
ject was  mentioned  at  our  last  General  Convention,  but,  so  far  as 
is  known,  approved  the  object,  and  heartily  bade  its  projectors 
'  God  speed.' 

"I  appeal  to  the  well-known  conservative  character  of  our 
Church  to  rebut  this  groundless  suspicion.  While  year  after  year 
furnishes  evidence  of  the  unhappy  divisions  which  distract  the 
councils  and  rend  the  organizations  of  other  bodies  of  Christians, 
our  Communion,  under  God's  gracious  goodness,  —  I  say  it  in  no 
spirit  of  boasting,  but  of  profoundest  humility  and  gratitude,  — 
has  been  exempt  from  strife,  and  has  kept  the  unity  of  the  Spirit, 
in  the  bond  of  peace. 

"These  facts  discountenance  the  idea  that  Southern  men,  in 
devising  a  plan  of  a  Southern  University,  have  contemplated  evil 
to  this  Union.  We  regard  this  University  as  an  institution  of 
conservatism.  We  consider  that  its  influence  will  be  used  to  still 
the  waters  of  agitation,  to  quench  the  flames  of  strife,  and,  diffus- 
ing intelligence  sanctified  by  piety,  to  bind  the  discordant  elements 
of  party  into  a  Union  stronger  than  steel  and  firmer  than  adamant." 

To  Bishop  Otey,  whose  long-delayed  hopes  seemed 
thus  almost  to  be  fulfilled,  this  was  indeed  a  season  of 
joy  and  thankfulness.  But  it  was  very  soon  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  severe  domestic  affliction.  He  was  hastily 
summoned  from  the  mountain,  to  the  death-bed  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Tomes,  Rector  of  Christ's  Church,  Nashville,  one 
of  his  favorite  Clergymen,  and  the  husband  of  his  be- 
loved daughter  Henrietta.  This  unexpected  and  twofold 


66  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

blow  bore  heavily  on  the  tender  soul  of  the  Bishop. 
A  laborer  of  so  amiable  and  faithful  a  spirit  could  not 
well  be  spared  from  the  meagre  list  of  his  Clergy ;  and 
to  his  already  manifold  duties  was  now  to  be  added 
that  of  comforting  and  caring  for  a  widowed  daughter 
and  her  three  children.  The  Bishop,  in  his  next 
Address  to  the  Convention,  speaks  of  Mr.  Tomes  as 
"  faithful,  true,  affectionate,  and  an  especial  lover  of 
the  brethren ;  one  whose  daily,  we  might  almost  say 
hourly,  delight  was  to  work  for  Christ  and  His  Church. 
Never  was  he  so  contented,  never  so  well  pleased,  as 
when  engaged  in  preaching  the  Gospel,  in  visiting  the 
sick,  relieving  the  poor  and  suffering,  and  reclaiming 
the  erring  and  the  lost." 

The  following  incident  is  one  that  caused  no  little 
excitement  at  the  time.  On  the  8th  of  August,  the 
Bishop  was  called  to  consecrate  a  new  Church  at  River- 
side, in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Diocese,  built  by  Col. 
N.  and  the  relatives  of  his  wife.  This  was  at  a  time 
when  what  is  now  generally  known  as  "  Eitualism  "  had 
gained  considerable  footing  in  some  of  the  larger  and 
more  advanced  cities  of  the  East,  but  had  yet  to  plant 
its  first  footstep  among  the  mountains  and  valleys  of 
Tennessee.  On  arriving  at  the  Church,  accompanied 
by  Bishop  Polk,  he  beheld  a  cross  on  every  gate,  three 
crosses  on  the  roof,  and  one  on  the  belfry.  On  entering 
the  Church,  he  found  the  font  at  the  south  door  of  the 
Church ;  and  on  the  altar  and  super-altar,  a  large  mov- 
able cross,  two  vases  for  flowers,  two  very  large  candle- 
sticks, and  five  other  crosses  with  multiform  devices 
upon  them.  This  was  rather  too  much  for  the  un- 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  67 

instructed  taste  of  the  good  Bishop.  He  had  not  been 
initiated  among  the  more  "  advanced  "  of  his  brethren. 
He  was  too  old-fashioned  to  admire  or  even  tolerate 
such  novelties :  therefore,  at  his  command,  these  insig- 
nia were  all  removed  before  he  would  proceed  to  the 
consecration.  Great  offence  was  taken  by  the  worthy 
family  that  erected  the  Church,  and  no  regular  services 
were  ever  after  held  in  it.  It  was  permitted  to  fall 
into  decay ;  and  no  vestige  remains  to  mark  the  occasion 
but  the  site  itself,  one  of  the  loveliest  that  could  possibly 
be  chosen  for  a  House  of  God.  Whilst  compelled  by 
honesty,  and  by  the  truth  of  this  narrative,  to  record 
this  event,  the  writer  cannot  wholly  approve  it.  It  was 
one  of  those  very  few  occasions  in  which  the  dear 
Bishop's  zeal  for  God  got  the  better  of  his  prudence. 
But  he  is  fully  convinced  that  no  act  of  similar  kind 
was  ever  performed  with  greater  sincerity  of  heart,  or 
under  a  stronger  sense  of  duty.  The  only  question  is, 
whether  the  desired  changes  might  not  have  been 
effected  in  the  way  of  kind  remonstrance,  rather  than 
by  the  word  of  command.  The  friends  of  the  aggrieved 
party,  encouraged  by  a  few  meddlers  outside  the  Dio- 
cese, raised  a  temporary  clamor  against  the  Bishop, 
alleging  that  he  had  overstepped  the  bounds  of  his 
authority,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  canon  forbidding 
the  use  of  these  symbols.  His  only  reply  was,  "  Canon 
or  no  canon,  I  would  do  the  same  again,  under  like 
circumstances."  Those  who  were  at  all  acquainted  with 
Bishop  Otey  knew  well  that  he  was  no  party-man. 
He  might  justly  have  been  termed  a  Catholic,  Prayer- 
Book  Churchman,  of  the  old  school ;  and  was  therefore 


68  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

tempted  to  look  with  suspicion  and  alarm  upon  any  act 
or  object,  however  innocent  in  itself,  that  might  symbol- 
ize the  heresies  of  Rome. 

In  July,  1858,  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  University  was  held  at  Beersheba  ;  the  Charter  was 
accepted,  sundry  committees  were  appointed,  and  the 
Bishop  congratulated  his  brethren  on  the  general  favor 
with  which  the  enterprise  was  regarded,  and  on  the 
large  amount  of  subscriptions  already  obtained  by  the 
exertions  of  Bishops  Polk  and  Elliott,  which  amounted 
to  nearly  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  year,  the  Bishop,  at  the 
instance  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Brownell,  the  Presiding 
Bishop,  undertook  once  more,  and  for  the  last  time, 
a  visitation  of  the  Churches  and  Missionary  Stations  in 
Arkansas. 

To  the  Convention  of  1859,  he  reports  that  he  had 
confirmed  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  persons,  an  in- 
crease of  more  than  one  hundred  over  the  number 
reported  the  preceding  year.  He  mentions  this  not  in 
a  boastful  or  exultant  spirit,  but  in  the  way  of  thankful- 
ness and  encouragement. 

At  this  Convention  he  speaks,  in  tender  and  affec- 
tionate terms,  of  the  deaths  of  two  of  his  consecrators, 
Bishops  Onderdonk  and  Doane  ;  making  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  ability  and  zeal  which  had  distin- 
guished both  in  defence  of  the  truth.  Of  the  former 
he  speaks  in  terms  of  strong  personal  affection ;  ascribes 
to  him  a  place  in  the  highest  rank  of  successful  contro- 
versialists ;  and  takes  pleasure  in  remembering  that 
it  was  upon  his  own  motion,  in  the  House  of  Bishops, 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  69 

that  the  sentence  of  Bishop  Onderdonk's  suspension  had 
been  remitted.  Of  Bishop  Doane,  who  had  preached 
the  sermon  at  his  consecration  in  1834,  he  speaks  as  a 
man  of  extraordinary  endowments,  of  large  heart,  un- 
selfish, self-sacrificing,  devoted  to  his  friends,  an  enemy 
to  no  man,  and  as  having  nobly  waged  the  battle  of 
life. 

In  1860  he  was  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
new  and  commodious  residence  which  had  been  built 
for  him  in  an  eligible  part  of  Memphis  ;  and  his  re- 
maining days  would  have  passed  in  quiet  and  comfort, 
if  he  had  not  seen  too  plainly  dark  clouds  of  war  about 
to  overshadow  the  land.  The  following  is  the  entry 
made  in  his  diary,  at  the  opening  of  this  year :  — 

"  SUNDAY,  Jan.  1.  The  first  day  of  another  week,  and  the 
first  week  of  a  new  }*ear,  have  dawned  upon  the  world ;  and,  by 
the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God,  I  am  blessed  with  the  renewed 
opportunity  of  perfecting  my  repentance,  and  of  striving  to  make 
my  calling  and  election  sure.  May  each  day  of  this  year  be 
employed  to  the  purposes  of  my  Christian  calling,  and  find  me 
advancing  in  the  great  work  of  my  salvation." 

The  only  incident  that  marks  this  year  of  the  Bishop's 
life  was  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  University 
of  the  South.  By  general  agreement,  the  tenth  day  of 
October  was  appointed  for  that  purpose.  The  place  of 
meeting  was  the  spot  previously  selected  as  the  site 
of  the  University.  It  was  on  the  plateau  of  the  Cum- 
berland range,  about  ten  miles  north-east  from  Win- 
chester. Although  at  that  time  only  an  uninhabited 
mountain-top,  it  presented  an  undulating  surface,  heavily 
wooded,  abounding  with  springs,  and  affording  magnifi- 


70  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

cent  views  of  the  valleys  below.  At  the  appointed 
time  there  was  gathered  there  an  assembly  of  at  least 
five  thousand  people,  —  Bishops,  Priests,  Deacons,  offi- 
cials of  various  degrees,  and  a  wondering  multitude  of 
simple-hearted  souls  from  the  surrounding  country.  A 
fine  band  of  instrumental  music  was  in  attendance,  and 
made  the  mountain  ring  as  it  joined  in  with  a  thousand 
happy  voices  in  the  refrain  of  the  "  Benedicite."  By 
Bishop  Otey's  appointment,  the  following  order  was  ob- 
served: Bishops  Rutledge,  Atkinson,  and  Cobbs  con- 
ducted the  introductory  services  ;  Hev.  Messrs.  J.  F. 
Young  and  C.  T.  Quintard  led  in  the  Chants  ;  Bishop 
Elliott  made  the  deposits  in  the  corner-stone  ;  Bishop 
Polk  laid  it ;  Bishop  Green  took  the  concluding  prayer  ; 
and  Bishop  Otey  closed  with  the  benediction.  At  the 
termination  of  this  impressive  ceremony,  an  eloquent 
oration  was  delivered  by  Hon.  John  S.  Preston  of  South 
Carolina,  followed  by  appropriate  addresses  from  Bishop 
Smith,  President  Barnard,  Commander  M.  F.  Maury, 
and  Hon.  John  M.  Bright. 

But  the  hand  of  fire  and  the  sword  were  soon  to  blight 
this  sunny  prospect.  The  sound  of  war  was  in  the  air. 
The  following  item  from  the  Bishop's  diary  will  plainly 
show  his  position  at  that  time,  in  view  of  the  threatened 
danger :  — 

"  DEC.  24.  Saw  Mr.  II.  G.  Smith,  and  allowed  the  use  of  my 
name,  com7  ok  ing  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  friendly  to  the 
Union  of  the  States  on  terms  consistent  with  the  honor  and  safety 
of  the  South." 

Early  in  1861,  the  Bishop  addressed  a  Pastoral  Let- 
ter to  the  laity  of  the  Diocese,  on  the  respective  duties 


Memoir  of  Bisho})   Otey.  71 

of  Wardens  and  Vestrymen.  This  was  soon  followed 
by  despatches  from  his  Clergy,  saying  that  they  must 
either  omit  the  Prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  or  close  their  Churches.  To  this  the  Bishop 
replied  that  he  had  no  power  of  dispensation  in  the 
matter.  At  a  Council  subsequently  held  at  the  call  of 
the  Bishop,  after  much  discussion  it  was  determined,  by 
vote,  that  each  Clergyman  be  left  to  his  own  discretion 
as  to  the  use  of  that  prayer.  But  a  still  safer  alter- 
native was  soon  after  adopted,  by  the  Bishop's  recom- 
mending to  the  Clergy  to  use  the  "  Ante-Communion 
Office "  in  place  of  the  usual  Morning  or  Evening  Ser- 
vice. As  rumors  of  war  were  daily  thickening  around 
him,  and  his  prayers  for  peace  seemed  to  be  unheeded, 
on  the  10th  of  May  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Hon. 
William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  begging  that 
hostilities  might  be  suspended,  and  invoking  the  influ- 
ence of  his  high  position  and  commanding  abilities  in 
giving  peace  to  the  country. 

The  character  of  that  letter  may  be  learned  from  the 
following  peroration :  — 

"  You  know,  sir,  it  is  a  maxim  consecrated  by  the  experience 
of  the  world,  in  morals,  religion,  and  political  science,  that  men 
may  be  led  when  they  cannot  be  driven.  You  know,  and  need 
not  be  reminded,  that  the  power  which  controls  the  hearts  and 
wills  of  men  resides  not  in  the  c  whirlwind  '  — the  passions  of  men  ; 
nor  in  the  4  fire '  —  the  persecuting  spirit  of  men ;  nor  in  the 
'earthquake'  —  the  strength  of  argument  and  eloquence:  but  in 
the  4  still  small  voice '  of  kindness  and  love,  that  speaks  as  gently 
as  the  summer's  breeze.  Oh,  sir,  speak  but  the  words  of  gentle- 
ness and  conciliation  to  }'our  countrymen,  driven  and  tossed  by 
contending  passions,  like  the  waves  of  the  troubled  sea  ;  and  who 


72  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

knows  but  that  God,  the  God  of  peace,  will  bless  your  word  and 
deed,  and  by  his  might}T  power  i  still  the  noise  of  the  waves,  and 
the  madness  of  the  people  '  ?  Go  to  the  President,  and  urge  him 
to  desist  from  all  hostile  measures,  and  efforts  to  conquer  an 
unwilling  obedience  to  his  government.  If  to  do  good  be  your 
object,  and  you  succeed,  the  blessings  of  millions  will  be  yours. 
If  earthly  fame  be  your  wish,  you  will  have  erected  a  monument 
for  yourself,  second  only,  in  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  its  pro- 
portions, to  his  of  whom  alone,  among  the  sons  of  men,  it  has 
been  truthfully  said,  c  He  was  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.'  I  pray  your  indulgence  for 
trespassing  so  much  on  your  time,  and  beg  leave  to  subscribe  my- 
self, with  profound  consideration, 

"  Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

"J.   H.   OTEY." 

Soon  after  this,  at  the  request  of  his  Convention,  the 
Bishop  put  forth  a  Pastoral  Letter  on  the  threatening 
aspect  of  the  times,  and  prescribed  a  Service  for  a  Yast 
Day,  to  be  observed  weekly  during  the  continuance  of 
the  present  troubles. 

In  addition  to  what  his  two  daughters  have  so 
graphically  and  touchingly  stated  of  the  home-life  and 
the  ever-affectionate  disposition  of  their  father,  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  his  diary  cannot  fail  to  place  him 
in  a  more  striking  and  endearing  light :  — 

"JULY  20,  1841.  My  dear  sister  Mildred  departed  this  life 
this  morning,  in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality.  She  was  one 
of  the  purest,  gentlest,  and  meekest  beings  that  I  have  ever 
seen.  The  Lord  grant  us  a  happy  family-meeting  in  his  King- 
dom above !  " 

"APRIL  19,  1854.  It  gave  me  great  pain  to  censure  D.  for 
staying  out  late,  last  night,  with  some  of  her  friends." 

"  FEB.  26,  1842.  This  is  the  anniversary  of  my  dear  departed 
Heber's  birth.  The  lineaments  of  his  sweet  face  are  now  fresh  in 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  73 

my  memory.  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  my  love  for  him,  sanctified  by 
love  of  Thee,  may  be  a  daily  incentive  to  my  own  soul  to  press  for- 
ward with  patience  and  ever-renewed  zeal,  after  that  crown  of  life 
which  I  humbly  hope  and  believe  my  child  has  received,  through 
Thy  mercy  and  goodness  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

"  MARCH  31,  1848.  This  is  my  dear  wife's  birthday.  I  pray 
God  to  grant  her  many  happy  returns  of  it ;  and  may  blessings 
spiritual  and  temporal  attend  her." 

It  has  already  been  stated,  that  in  the  year  1851  the 
Bishop,  being  in  feeble  health,  by  the  earnest  advice  and 
the  kind  assistance  of  his  friends  spent  several  months 
in  visiting  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Switzer- 
land. As  usual,  he  kept  his  diary ;  and,  if  it  had  been 
published  at  the  time,  it  would  have  excited  no  little 
interest  in  every  intelligent  reader.  It  was  written, 
however,  with  no  view  to  the  public  eye,  but  solely  for 
the  entertainment  and  instruction  of  his  children.  He 
of  course  saw  much  that  was  both  new  and  strange,  and 
formed  many  distinguished  and  gratifying  acquaintances. 
But  whether  in  the  presence  of  royalty,  in  the  crowded 
city,  or  on  the  lofty  Alps,  "  the  loved  ones  at  home " 
were  ever  present  to  him.  After  returning  from  a  visit 
to  Westminster  Abbey  and  the  House  of  Lords,  he 
writes :  — 

41  MAY  28.  This  date  calls  up  the  memory  of  an  event  which, 
with  all  its  circumstances,  is  in  a  manner  burnt  into  my  very  soul. 
This  day,  four  years  ago,  my  beloved  Sarah  died.  Long  and  sor- 
rowfully did  I  gaze  at  her  sweet  face  to-day.  It  seemed  to  look 
tenderly  but  sadly  upon  me.  Shall  I  ever  again  behold  those  fea- 
tures re-animate  with  life,  —  with  life  immortal,  the  life  '  hid  with 
Christ  in  God  '  ?  May  my  Father  in  heaven  grant  it,  for  my  dear 
Saviour's  sake." 

"  JULY  27.     The  sun,  in  his  annual  course,  has  brought  around 


74  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

the  day  which  I  first  knew  as  a  day  of  deep  affliction  and  bereave- 
ment. Twenty-one  years  ago  my  precious  little  boy,  Reginald 
Heber,  was  taken  from  my  arms  by  death ;  and  the  bitterness  of 
grief  has  not  yet  passed  away." 

"  AUG.  7.  Donna's  birthday.  Blessings  on  thee,  my  dear 
child!" 

"  FEB.  7,  1852.  Anniversary  of  the  death  and  burial  of  my  dar- 
ling little  Fanny.  Four  years  ago,  I  committed  her  remains  to  the 
earth.  And,  alas  !  how  little  has  time  in  its  flight  done  to  mitigate 
the  keen  sense  I  entertain  of  her  loss !  Every  look  and  feature 
and  movement  of  that  dear  child  is  indelibly  impressed  upon  my 
memory  and  my  heart.  Many  hours,  in  the  loneliness  of  the  night, 
are  my  thoughts  dwelling  upon  her ;  and  at  times  it  seems  as  if  I 
could  almost  penetrate  the  veil  that  hides  the  spiritual  world,  and 
see  her  again.  Do  the  souls  of  the  departed  indeed  draw  near  to 
us  in  the  body,  and  make  us  mindful  of  their  presence  ?  I  would 
fain  believe  it.  My  children  appear  sometimes  so  near  to  me,  that 
I  can  almost  see  them  with  m}'  e3'es.  But  sight,  thank  God,  is  not 
necessar}T  to  assure  us  of  the  reality  of  things." 

Of  the  three  departed  children  of  the  Bishop,  referred 
to  above,  Heber  lived  only  nine  years.  He  was  a  child 
of  great  promise,  dying  July  27,  1881.  Sarah  lived  to 
pass  her  sixteenth  year,  being  in  mind  and  disposition 
all  that  a  doting  parent  could  wish.  She  had  received 
a  thorough  education  at  the  Female  Institute,  being 
rewarded  with  its  highest  honors  through  her  whole 
course.  She  was  the  intelligent  companion,  as  well  as 
the  loving  child,  of  her  father,  —  his  pride,  his  chief 
joy.  He  returned  from  one  of  his  long  and  fatiguing 
journeys,  merely  in  time  to  be  faintly  recognized,  as 
she  drew  her  last  breath,  on  the  28th  of  May,  1847. 
Fanny,  as  described  by  one  of  her  living  sisters,  was  the 
"  darling  of  the  household,"  —  a  child  of  wonderful  fas- 


Memoir  of  Bishep   Otey.  75 

cination,  and  every  way  calculated  to  entwine  herself 
around  a  father's  heart.  She  had  scarcely  passed  from 
infancy  to  girlhood  when  her  heavenly  Father  claimed 
her  for  Himself,  Feb.  6,  1848,  ten  months  after  her 
sister.  To  these  three  afflictions  of  the  good  Bishop, 
there  followed,  June  4,  1851,  the  more  serious  death  of 
Mrs.  Otey,  who  for  forty  years  had  been  to  her  family 
the  helping  and  loving  wife,  the  fond  and  watchful 
mother,  and  the  diligent  and  provident  helpmeet  of  the 
household. 

May  29,  1852.  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  his 
daughter  Sarah,  he  writes  thus  feelingly  :  — 

"Ah!  how  many  pangs  of  the  heart  have  I  not  felt  at  the 
recollection  of  this  sad  day !  How  often  have  I  watered  my  couch 
with  my  tears  !  '  Yet  Thou  continuest  faithful,  O  Thou  Hoty  One 
of  Israel ! '  When  have  I  not  thought  of  thee,  my  beloved  child, 
in  my  wanderings  through  and  over  this  weary  world  !  At  home 
and  abroad,  on  the  ocean  and  on  the  dry  land,  in  storm  and  in 
calm,  by  night  and  by  day,  climbing  the  rugged  Alps,  gazing  on 
scenes  of  beauty  or  grandeur,  —  everywhere  and  at  all  times,  thou 
art  nearly  present  to  my  thoughts. — Lord,  forgive  a  father's  too 
great  love  for  his  children  !  Amen." 

In  a  letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  Wheat  to  the  writer,  he 
says,  — 

"  I  was  much  with  the  Bishop,  after  the  death  of  his  two  daugh- 
ters, and  saw  how  deepty  his  tender  heart  (unusually  tender,  I 
think)  suffered  while  he  spoke  of  them  with  passionate  fondness ; 
sometimes  weeping  and  sobbing  violently,  as  he  recalled  their  thou- 
sand endearments." 

In  an  attempt  to  portray  the  character  of  Bishop 
Otey,  especially  in  regard  to  its  gentler  and  more  lov- 
able features,  it  would  not  be  amiss  to  show  how  his 


76  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

compassion  flowed  out  to  others  beyond  the  bounds  of 
his  own  family.  If  ever  there  has  been  a  second  Bar- 
nabas, it  might  have  been  seen  in  him ;  for  he  was  truly 
a  s>son  of  consolation"  to  all  the  distressed  within  his 
reach.  The  poor,  the  sick,  the  afflicted,  and  even  the 
birds  of  the  air,  felt  his  compassion  and  his  help. 

Feb.  19,  1844,  when  on  his  way  to  visit  the  few 
members  of  the  Church  in  the  Indian  Territory,  he 
writes :  — 

u  Heard  of  a  man  at  the  mouth  of  White  River,  destitute, 
sick,  and  almost  d}'ing.  I  proposed  to  the  passengers  to  make  up 
a  purse  for  his  relief.  Of  the  $9.50  contributed,  I  gave  five  dol- 
lars, and  feel  thankful  that  I  had  it  to  give  for  the  comfort  of  an 
unfortunate  fellow-being.  Ma}r  the  Lord  raise  him  up,  and  restore 
him  to  his  family." 

On  unexpectedly  meeting  with  Bishop  Cobbs  in  Mis- 
sissippi, in  1847,  out  of  the  fulness  of  an  affectionate 
heart  he  exclaims,  "  O  quanta  gaudia ! " 

When  about  to  remove  from  his  home  near  Columbia, 
to  Memphis,  he  thus  describes  his  feelings :  — 

"  I  begin  now  to  realize  truly,  that  I  am  about  to  leave  a  resi- 
dence endeared  to  me  by  many  holy  and  deeply  interesting  associ- 
ations. The  very  trees  in  the  yard  seem  to  me  to  be  the  friends 
of  my  children,  and  especially  of  my  deceased  ones.  It  was  under 
the  shade  of  these  oaks  that  I  last  saw  them  in  health.  There 
is  a  spot  to  which  one  of  them  resorted  to  study,  and  yonder  I 
remember  to  have  seen  one  of  them  in  play ;  and  how  often  have 
I  seen  them  all  coming  down  the  gravel  walk  from  the  gate  !  And 
hereafter,  I  am  to  behold  them  no  more  in  these  loved  spots  and 
familiar  walks.  God's  will  be  done  !  " 

But  the  two  following  extracts  from  his  diary  will 
show  a  degree  of  compassion  truly  Christ-like :  — 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  77 

"  SUNDAY,  Jan.  25,  1847.  The  trap  fell,  and  caught  a  bird, 
this  morning.  I  took  pleasure  in  releasing  the  little  captive,  and 
then  so  setting  the  trap  that  the  little  birds  might  devour  the  bait 
with  impunity  all  this  blessed  day." 

Again,  April  25,  1842,  he  makes  this  tender  and 
child-like  record :  — 

"I  saw  a  man  commit  an  act,  to-daj7,  of  wanton  cruelty.  A 
wild  duck,  usually  a  very  timid  fowl,  was  seen  swimming  with  her 
young  brood,  eight  or  ten  in  number,  near  the  bow  of  our  boat. 
She  was  hastening  with  her  young  out  of  the  way,  as  fast  as  the  poor 
little  creatures  could  swim.  A  man  —  a  monster  in  human  shape, 
he  ought  to  be  called  —  deliberately  raised  his  gun,  and  fired  one 
of  the  barrels  at  them.  The  old  duck  did  not  fly.  He  then  fired 
the  second  barrel.  Still  she  did  not  fly,  but  swam  along  in  front 
of  her  young,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Three  of  the  poor  lit- 
tle ones  floated  away  lifeless  from  the  shot  of  the  inhuman  marks- 
man ;  and  the  mother-duck  pursued  after  them,  with  the  remainder. 
The  last  I  saw  of  her,  she  was  still  swimming  after  them.  Had  I 
been  in  the  man's  place,  I  should  have  felt  that  I  had  committed 
murder.  As  it  was,  I  felt  indignant  enough  to  throw  him  into  the 
Mississippi." 

In  this  connection  it  may  with  much  truth  be  stated, 
that  the  Bishop's  diary  is  replete  with  instances  of  his 
visiting  the  sick  and  the  afflicted,  praying  with  them, 
and,  as  far  as  he  could,  preparing  them  for  their  last 
hour.  Not  only  at  the  bedside  of  his  own  departing 
children,  but  in  steamboats,  at  the  wayside  inn,  as  well 
as  among  his  own  pastoral  charge,  he  might  have  been 
seen  administering  to  the  afflicted  of  every  name.  His 
services  of  this  kind  were  frequently  sought  for  outside 
of  his  own  Communion  and  his  more  especial  acquaint- 
ance. In  addition  to  his  ministrations  in  the  chamber 
of  the  dying,  he  was  oftentimes  called  upon  to  write 


78  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

obituaries  of  the  dead,  to  preach  funeral-sermons,  and, 
finally,  to  compose  fitting  epitaphs  for  their  tombs. 

"FEB.  16,  1854.     Walked  into  town,  this  morning,  and  went 

to  visit  Mrs.  M n;    found  her  much  enfeebled,  and  rapidly 

growing  weaker.  I  read  to  her  the  4  Exhortation  to  the  Sick,' 
and  examined  her  touching  her  faith,  repentance,  and  charity ; 
and  then  pra3^ed  with  her.  [He  then  adds]  It  affords  me  fre- 
quently the  highest  satisfaction,  thus  to  engage  in  prayer  with 
sick  and  afflicted  persons.  In  such  cases,  I  often  have  a  depth 
of  feeling  in  my  own  soul,  experience  a  sense  of  the  Divine  pres- 
ence, and  have  a  liberty  or  freedom  in  prayer,  that  I  realize  very 
seldom  under  other  circumstances.  At  such  times,  how  precious 
seems  the  Saviour  to  the  soul,  how  sufficient  the  grace  of  God 
to  all  our  needs,  how  glorious  the  hope  and  the  reward  of  the 
believer !  ' ' 

April  23,  1842,  the  child  of  a  dear  friend  (A.  J.  Polk) 
being  at  the  point  of  death,  he  says. — 

"I  spent  one  or  two  hours  in  conversation  with  the  afflicted 
parents,  suggesting  to  their  minds  all  the  grounds  of  comfort  and 
consolation  which  the  Scriptures  allow  us  to  cherish  in  the  death 
of  children." 

His  letters  of  condolence  to  the  family  and  friends  of 
the  dead  are  many  in  number ;  and  abounding  with  a 
heartfelt  sympathy,  as  well  as  with  every  conceivable 
ground  of  comfort  to  the  bereaved.  To  some  of  his 
relatives,  who  had  lost  their  mother,  he  writes :  — 

4 'Mr  DEAR  COUSINS,  —  We  received  last  week  the  sad  intelli- 
gence of  the  decease  of  your  beloved  mother.  I  have  delayed,  a 
few  days,  the  tender  of  my  heartfelt  sj'mpathy ;  because  I  know 
that  upon  the  first  shock  of  such  a  calamity  the  mind  is  too  much 
absorbed  with  its  griefs,  and  with  the  recent  sufferings  of  the  de- 
parted, to  give  heed  to  the  consoling  voice  of  friendship.  Time 
must  be  given  us,  that  our  agitated  spirits  may  be  composed,  before 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  79 

we  can  listen  to  the  consolations  which  affection  and  the  voice  of 
religion  offer  to  soothe  our  sorrows.  May  a  gracious  God  comfort 
your  hearts,  for  He  alone  can  do  it.  It  is  He  only,  that  can  give 
4  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment  of 
praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.'  We  can  have  but  one  mother, 
and  there  are  endearing  recollections  connected  with  that  name 
which  attach  to  no  other  in  our  world ;  and  few  have  been  blessed 
with  such  a  mother  as  yours.  She  was  deserving  of  all  }Tour  love, 
and  her  place  in  the  community  in  which  she  lived  will  be  hard  to 
fill.  I  trust  that  you  feel  abundant  motives  for  resignation  in  the 
recollection  of  her  piety,  her  charity,  and  her  faith  in  Christ.  I 
doubt  not  she  is  blessed  beyond  all  our  conceptions  of  happiness. 
We  have  no  just  grounds  to  mourn  for  her ;  but,  rather,  for  our- 
selves. You  can  scarcely  wish  her  back,  to  share  in  the  tempta- 
tions and  sorrows  of  earth  ;  while  every  remembrance  of  her  should 
strengthen  the  ties  that  bind  your  affections  to  heaven  and  heavenly 
things.'* 

To  a  lady  friend,  Mrs.  W s  of  Chattanooga,  he 

wrote  Nov.  13,  1861:  — 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND  AND  AFFLICTED  SISTER,  —  I  have  just  seen, 
in  one  of  our  papers,  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  your  dearly 
beloved  husband  ;  and  now  tender  to  you  and  his  bereaved  family 
the  tribute  of  my  sincere  sympathy  and  my  heartfelt  condolence. 
If  his  many  and  attached  friends  mourn  over  this  sudden  affliction, 
what  anguish  must  wring  your  heart  in  being  bereft  of  the  cher- 
ished affection  and  love  of  such  a  companion !  May  a  gracious 
God  comfort  your  heart.  He  alone  can  speak  peace  to  your  trou- 
bled spirit,  and  calm  the  tempest  of  3Tour  grief.  I  know  well,  from 
my  own  sad  experience,  that  words  of  human  sympathy  cannot 
cure  the  sorrows  of  the  heart.  Grief  is  often  too  deep  and  sacred 
to  endure  the  offerings  of  human  friendship,  and  they  avail  but  little 
to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  spirit.  When  time  shall  have  done  its 
soothing  office  by  you,  you  will  then  call  to  mind  the  many  virtues 
and  excellences  of  your  husband,  and  you  will  delight  to  cherish 
his  memory.  .  .  .  You  have  the  further  and  unspeakable  comfort 


80  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

of  reflecting  that  he  had  made  his  peace  with  God,  and  looked  for 
His  merc}T  through  the  alone  merits  and  intercession  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

The  following  is  a  part  of  a  letter  to  an  especially 
dear  and  worthy  friend  (Mrs.  L.),  whose  husband  had 
just  been  killed  in  a  duel :  — 

"  JAN.  8,  1862. 

"Mr  VERY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  received  yours  of  the  5th  inst., 
last  evening.  How  gladly  would  I  soothe  your  sorrows,  if  it  were 
in  my  power !  Words  of  sympath}7  and  affection  cannot  reach  the 
heart,  and  relieve  its  anguish,  when  torn  and  bleeding  by  such  a 
wound  as  yours  has  received.  All  that  we  can  say  of  the  loved 
departed,  —  his  nobleness  of  soul,  his  manliness,  his  uprightness, 
his  integrity,  his  kindness  in  his  domestic  relations,  —  all  tends 
only  to  endear  him  to  your  recollection,  and  make  you  feel  the  ex- 
tent and  severity  of  }'our  loss.  MJT  part  —  it  is  all  I  can  offer,  and 
poor  at  that  —  is  to  weep  with  you,  and  pray  for  you.  The  Lord 
bless  thee,  and  help  thee  !  The  Lord  comfort  jour  heart,  and 
cause  His  face  to  shine  upon  you.  God's  ways  are  very  often,  to 
us,  dark  and  m^ysterious.  But  we  are  assured  that  those  ways  are 
guided  by  unerring  wisdom  and  unspeakable  love.  When  we  would 
inquire  into  the  reasons  of  His  dispensations,  we  are  met  with  the 
declaration,  '  He  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  His  matters/  Your 
husband's  life  was  not  the  sport  of  chance.  The  might  of  an  arch- 
angel could  not  strike  his  name  from  the  list  of  the  living,  without 
the  permission  of  that  great  and  hoi}7  Being  who  gave  him  exist- 
ence, and  who  knew  best  when  to  recall  the  life  which  He  Himself 
had  given." 

If  all  such  letters  of  sympathy  and  of  godly  counsel 
in  affliction  could  be  gathered  together,  they  would  form 
a  volume  of  the  largest  size.  They  were  not  a  mere 
compliance  with  conventional  usage,  but  the  offspring  of 
a  naturally  warm  and  feeling  heart. 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  81 

Of  the  strength  of  his  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of 
his  friends,  the  Bishop  seemed,  at  times,  to  be  painfully 
sensible.  At  the  close  of  the  protracted  trial  of  Bishop 
Doane,  he  writes  to  one  of  his  daughters  :  — 

"  You  seem  to  wonder,  my  dear  child,  that  I  should  have  felt 
so  much  troubled  about  this  matter.  It  was  not  in  reference  to 
myself,  or  the  line  of  1113*  duty,  that  I  felt  concerned.  Indeed,  I 
may  say  truty  that  all  the  troubles  of  my  life  'have  been  for  others. 
Like  yourself,  my  nerves  have  been  too  delicately  strung ;  and  I 
have  often  suffered  agonies  inexpressible,  when  others  have  said, 
'  Oh,  never  mind ! '  I  have  often  wished  that  I  possessed  less 
sensibility,  and  less  sympathy  for  others ;  but  that  is  wishing  not 
to  be  myself. ' ' 

"Nov.  20,  1855.  Went  to  the  prison,  and  had  a  conversa- 
tion with  Henry,  a  slave,  condemned  to  die  this  day  for  murder. 
I  found  him,  to  all  appearance,  humble,  docile,  and  penitent.  I 
examined  him  touching  his  contrition  for  his  past  ungodly  life,  es- 
pecially the  crime  for  which  he  was  in  a  few  hours  to  die.  He  pro- 
fessed to  be  truly  penitent,  and,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  sincerely 
so.  I  then  instructed  him,  that  if  he  really  believed  with  all  his 
heart  that  Christ  Jesus  died  for  sinners,  and  if  he  would  put  his 
only  and  whole  trust  in  God's  mercy  through  Christ,  he  might  3~et 
find  pardon  and  acceptance.  This  he  appeared  unfeignedly  to  do. 
I  then,  in  the  presence  of  the  jailer  and  sheriff,  and  several  others 
who  had  come  in,  examined  him,  and  called  upon  them  to  witness 
his  declarations  of  repentance  and  faith,  his  forgiveness  of  others, 
and  his  prayers  for  his  own  forgiveness.  After  commending  him 
to  God's  great  mercj'  in  Christ,  I  baptized  him,  and  left  him  to 
meet  the  terrible  fate  to  which  his  guilt  had  brought  him." 

"MARCH  13,  1862.  Went  to  the  hospital  this  morning.  A 
sick  young  man,  for  whom  I  prayed  last  evening,  died  about  an 
hour  after  I  left.  I  walked  over  a  considerable  part  of  the  town, 
in  search  of  oranges  for  the  sick  soldiers,  but  could  get  none. 
Soon  after,  I  visited  several  other  of  our  soldiers,  for  whom  I  read 
and  prayed.  Among  them  were  two  Federal  soldiers,  captives, 


82  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

for  whom  also  I  read  and  prayed.  One  of  them  seemed  to  be  quite 
despondent." 

"  MARCH  16.  Spent  several  hours  in  the  forenoon  at  the  Over- 
ton-house  Hospital,  in  visiting  the  sick  and  wounded,  reading  for 
them  and  praying  with  them." 

"APRIL  6,  1862.  A  large  number  of  sick  soldiers  aboard,  on 
their  way  to  the  hospital  at  Vicksburg ;  many  of  them  evidently 
demoralized.  One  of  them  took  his  seat  at  a  table  in  the  gentle- 
men's cabin,  with  a  youth,  to  play  cards.  I  went  to  them,  and 
talked  to  them  on  the  impropriety  of  their  conduct ;  asked  what 
their  parents  would  think  if  they  knew  the}r  were  thus  engaged, 
etc.  I  told  them,  also,  how  such  conduct  might  spread  a  gloom 
over  their  departing  hours.  All  to  no  purpose :  they  continued 
their  game." 

The  next  day,  aboard  of  the  same  boat,  he  writes :  — 

"  This  afternoon  visited  a  man  in  his  stateroom,  by  the  name 
of  Banks,  and  proposed  to  pray  with  him.  He  was  too  far  gone 
to  understand  scarcel}7  any  thing  that  could  be  said  to  him.  I 
therefore  commended  his  soul  to  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  and 
in  an  hour  he  died." 

If  ever  there  was  a  man  honest  in  heart,  and  fearless 
in  action,  whether  of  a  moral  or  physical  character,  that 
man  was  Bishop  Otey.  Although,  as  already  shown,  he 
possessed  all  the  tenderness  of  the  gentlest  woman, 
he  could,  when  the  occasion  called  for  it,  stand  firm  as 
a  rock,  rebuke  the  offender,  disturb  the  sleeping  con- 
science, defy  the  insolent,  or  pass  sentence  on  the  guilty. 
In  both  disposition  and  conduct  he  strongly  resembled 
that  great  Bishop  whom  he  so  delighted  to  honor,  and 
from  whom  he  had  received  the  first  and  second  Orders 
of  the  Ministry. 

MARCH  10,  1842.  A  Mr.  Slater  had  passed  himself 
off  as  a  Clergyman  of  the  Church,  and  had  officiated 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  83 

several  times  in  his  Diocese.  The  Bishop,  after  detect- 
ing his  villainy,  told  him  that  he  was  an  unworthy  and 
unprincipled  man  ;  and  that  he  would  publish  him  to 
the  world,  and  give  information  to  all  the  Bishops  of 
the  Church.  The  man  begged  that  he  would  not  pub- 
lish him,  as  it  would  ruin  him  forever.  The  answer 
was,  "  I  must  do  my  duty  to  the  Church,  let  the  con- 
sequences be  as  they  may." 

"FEB.  19,  1847.  Write  to  Mr.  I.  K.  Y.,  upon  the  subject  of 
his  religious  profession,  informing  him  that  I  had  heard  of  his 
swearing ;  and  give  him  a  solemn  and  serious  warning." 

Of  one  of  his  Clergy,  a  good  man  otherwise,  but 
always  leaving  a  debt  behind  him,  he  says,  — 

"Mr.  N.  came  to-day;  and  I  opened  my  mind  to  him,  very 
freely,  on  the  impropriety  of  his  running  about  drawing  bills,  etc." 

The  following  little  item  shows  his  regard  to  law,  and 
his  determination  not  to  be  imposed  upon :  — 

"  DEC.  20,  1860.  Arrived  at  home  ;  hired  a  hack,  and  paid  for 
the  same  twenty-five  cents.  The  driver  demanded  double  that 
sum  ;  which  I  refused,  as  contrary  to  the  City  Ordinance." 

Every  Clergyman  knows  how  painful  is  the  duty  of 
apprising  the  sick  of  their  near-approaching  end.  This 
task  was  one  from  which  the  good  Bishop  never  with- 
held himself.  April  19,  1857,  he  writes:  — 

"  Went  to  see  a  sick  gentleman,  and  found  him  sleeping.  On 
arousing  from  his  slumber,  I  began  to  converse  with  him.  He  said 
that  conversation  and  prayers  excited  him  too  much,  and  that  he 
would  send  for  me  and  see  me  at  another  time.  I  saw  that  the 
poor  man  was  endeavoring  to  conceal  from  himself  his  true  situa- 
tion. I  therefore  warned  him  very  seriously,  and  begged  him  not 


84  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

to  persuade  himself,  or  let  others  flatter  him,  with  the  hope  of  re- 
cover}' ;  for  that  he  would  go  soon,  and  probably  very  suddenly. 
[The  next  day's  entry  is]  The  sick  man  I  went  to  see  yesterday 
died  this  morning.  It  was  not  without  reason  that  I  warned  him." 
"  SUNDAY,  Dec.  20,  1857.  Saw  some  young  men  laughing  in 
Church  ;  for  which  I  gave  them  a  pointed  rebuke,  without  calling 
their  names." 

Clergymen,  in  their  journeyings,  are  not  infrequently 
subjected  to  hearing  profane  or  indecent  language  from 
young  men  of  licentious  habits.  April  3,  1857,  being 
on  a  Mississippi  steamer,  the  Bishop  writes :  — 

"  A  young  man,  with  two  companions,  came  into  the  social  hall, 
and  commenced  using  blasphemous  and  obscene  language  so  shame- 
lessly that  I  felt  obliged  to  reprove  him.  I  began  by  repeating,  in 
a  slow  and  solemn  tone,  the  third  Commandment.  It  at  once  made 
an  impression.  The  wretched  man  strove  and  struggled  to  escape, 
like  a  wild  bull  in  a  net ;  but  in  vain.  I  set  before  him  the  deep 
and  provoking  sin  of  blasphemy,  and  his  ingratitude  to  God  ;  until, 
ashamed,  he  left  my  presence,  and  I  saw  him  no  more." 

Again,  Oct.  27,  1840,  he  writes  :  — 

"I  had  hard  words  to-day  with  Gen.  P w,  who  refused  to 

release  me  from  an  agreement  about  certain  lands.  I  told  him  it 
was  evident  that  he  was  deliberately  intending  to  overreach  and 
deceive  me.  He  was  ver}T  angiy,  and  tried  to  intimidate  me.  I 
was  much  excited  ;  but,  finding  that  I  was  not  to  be  scared  by 
either  looks  or  words,  he  gave  me,  after  a  while,  the  guaranty 
which  I  desired." 

But  the  following,  related  to  the  author  by  one  of  his 
daughters,  will  serve  to  show  that  her  good  father  was 
physically,  as  well  as  morally,  without  fear.  It  is  given 
in  her  own  words  :  — 

"  On  one  of  his  visitations,  weary  and  fatigued  and  in  want  of 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  85 

sleep,  from  a  long  ride  on  horseback,  he  arrived  at  a  town  that 
was  filled  to  overflowing  with  some  important  political  meeting. 
On  asking  for  a  room,  or  even  a  bed,  the  landlord  replied  that 
there  was  not  even  a  space  on  his  sitting-room  floor  for  him  to  lie 
upon.  But,  seeing  my  father's  disappointment,  he  said,  ;  There  is 
a  room  up-stairs,  belonging  to  a  gambler,  who  seldom  comes  in 
until  morning,  and  sometimes  not  until  breakfast- time  If  you 
choose  to  try  that,  you  may.'  My  father  concluded  that  he  would 
make  the  venture.  After  sleeping  very  comfortably  for  some  time, 
he  was  suddenly  awakened  by  a  voice  calling  out  in  an  angry  tone, 
'  Get  up  out  of  here,  stranger!  What  are  you  doing  here?  Get 
out  this  moment,  or  I  will  pitch  }TOU  out  of  the  window.'  My 
father  attempted  to  expostulate  with  the  rough,  rude  man  that 
stood  over  him ;  but  in  vain.  At  last,  being  fully  awakened 
to  the  situation,  he  looked  his  assailant  steadily  in  the  eye,  and,  at 
the  same  time  stretching  out  his  arm,  said,  c  Before  you  throw  me 
out  of  the  window,  feel  that.1  That  was  the  last  of  it." 

He  once  hired  a  man  by  the  name  of  Buchanan  to 
act  as  an  overseer  of  his  little  farm  near  Memphis.  He 
proved  to  be  a  wife-beater,  and  in  sundry  other  respects 
utterly  unworthy.  After  being  deservedly  dismissed  by 
the  Bishop,  he  went  to  his  house  drunk,  and  in  a  very 
insulting  mood.  The  Bishop  paid  him  up  in  full,  cred- 
ited him  for  some  extra  supplies,  took  his  receipt,  and 
then  told  him  to  "  be  off."  As  the  scamp  seemed  dis- 
posed to  be  dogged  and  stubborn,  the  Bishop  took  him 
by  the  arm,  and  unceremoniously  shoved  him  out  of  the 
door. 

Of  the  ministerial  life  of  Bishop  Otey,  it  may  with 
truth  be  said  that  it  was  one  of  unremitting  labor,  and, 
in  its  earlier  stages,  of  much  pecuniary  straitness.  Some 
years  after  his  arrival  in  Tennessee,  when  he  had  begun 
to  see  better  times,  he  jocularly  said  to  a  friend,  "  When 


86  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

I  first  came  into  the  State,  my  sole  possessions  were  my 
wife,  my  horse,  my  buggy,  and  my  fiddle.  The  buggy 
and  the  horse  have  long  since  become  of  no  use  to  me, 
but  my  wife  and  my  fiddle  are  as  good  as  ever."  This 
cheerfulness  of  spirit  was  one  of  the  happiest  traits  in 
his  character,  and  sustained  him  under  a  pressure  of 
bodily  and  mental  toil  which  few  have  been  so  able  to 
endure.  The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  will 
give  the  reader  some  evidence  of  this :  — 

"  TUESDAY,  6th,  1842.  Set  out  in  the  coach  at  8  A.M.  Rained 
hard  all  day,  coach  leaking  badly.  Nine  passengers,  one  of  them 
a  large,  helpless  Indian.  Came  near  upsetting.  Reach  Rock  Row, 
9  P.M.,  wet;  find  several  great  rowdies,  blasphemous  and  profane 
wretches,  at  the  hotel.  Retire  to  bed  ;  great  fat  Indian  comes,  and 
tumbles  in  beside  me." 

"  JULY  11,  1855.  Went  to  bed,  but  immediately  attacked  by 
bugs.  Got  up,  and  went  out  into  the  stage-coach,  and  staid  till 
morning.  Told  Mr.  W.,  the  hotel-keeper,  about  the  condition  of 
his  beds  ;  seemed  to  take  it  in  high  dudgeon." 

"  MARCH  31,  1844.  Slept  in  T.'s  house  (an  Indian)  last  night 
—  the  hardest  floor  I  have  ever  felt." 

He  frequently  follows  up  a  hard  day's  labor,  or  a 
sleepless  night,  with  a  brief  and  uncomplaining  remark  : 
such  as,  "  I  have  this  day  been  speaking  four  hours ; " 
"All  day  writing  sermon,  and  preparing  lecture;  weary, 
weary  world !  "  "  Uncomfortable,  sleepless  night  —  mos- 
quitoes ! " 

Fifty  years  ago,  Tennessee  and  the  adjoining  States 
had  no  railroads  or  turnpikes,  and  but  few  coaches  on 
the  many  routes  which  the  Bishop  had  to  travel.  His 
earlier  journeyings,  therefore,  had  to  be  performed  on 
horseback.  We  accordingly  find  many  such  entrances 
as  these :  — 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  87 

"MARCH  20,    1839.     Arrived   at  Montgomery's,   thirty-seven 
miles,  barely  in  time  to  escape  a  heavy  shower." 
"  MARCH  21.     Ride  to  Savannah,  thirty-five  miles." 
' 4  MARCH  22.    Ride  in  the  rain,  sick  and  weary,  to  Bolivar,  thirty- 
two  miles." 

At  another  time  :  — 

"  Reached  Montgomery's,  thirty-nine  miles.  Lumpkin's,  thirty- 
nine  miles,  snowing  and  sleeting  all  day.  Mr.  Alsenelly's,  twenty- 
nine  miles,  drizzling  rain  all  day." 

His  Diocese  was  too  poor  to  provide  for  him  as  they 
desired :  hence,  both  at  Franklin  and  Columbia,  he  was 
compelled  to  devote  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time 
to  teaching.  On  three  days  of  the  week,  he  lectured 
on  Moral  Philosophy,  Rhetoric,  and  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity, in  the  Female  Institute,  from  its  first  establish- 
ment to  the  beginning  of  the  war.  To  his  exertions  in 
the  pulpit,  in  his  study,  and  in  the  schoolroom,  he  added 
no  little  amount  of  manual  labor.  He  was  his  own  car- 
penter and  gardener  and  general  house-jobber.  At  one 
time  we  see  him  repairing  his  fences ;  at  another,  dig- 
ging up  and  setting  out  trees ;  next,  putting  up  a  bee- 
hive ;  and  then,  "  making  a  frame-screen  for  wife."  He 
was  no  stranger  to  what  in  classic  phrase  is  known  as 
res  angusta  domi.  A  story  has  been  told  the  writer  of 
this  sketch,  that,  in  the  early  stage  of  his  Episcopacy, 
he  was  one  day  about  mounting  his  horse  for  one  of  his 
long  visitations,  when  his  wife  called  to  him,  "  Mr.  Otey, 
there  is  not  a  peck  of  meal  in  the  house."  His  only 
reply  was,  "  Trust  Providence ; "  and  he  rode  off.  And 
it  gives  the  writer  no  little  pleasure  to  add,  that  seldom 
has  such  pious  trust  been  better  rewarded ;  as  the  good 


88  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

Bishop  lived  to  see  these  providential  supplies  so  in- 
creased, from  day  to  day,  that  his  family  grew  in  com- 
fort and  abundance  to  the  close  of  his  life. 

The  slightest  review  of  what  is  here  written  will 
suffice  to  show  what  were  the  many  privations  and  trials 
which  the  good  Bishop  was  called  to  endure.  No  one 
need  wonder,  that,  near  the  close  of  his  days,  a  sad 
record  like  this  is  to  be  found  in  his  diary :  — 

"  Disappointments,  hardships,  labors,  ingratitude  of  men, 
bereavements,  sorrows,  afflictions,  are  the  wayinarks  which  are 
chiefly  and  most  plainly  visible  on  the  path  of  my  pilgrimage. 
But,  then,  God's  mercies  and  blessings  have  also  abounded." 

Iii  a  similar  strain  he  thus  writes,  in  1857,  to  Rev. 
Dr.  Quintard :  — 

"Mr  DEAR  BROTHER, — Yours  of  the  llth  was  received  last 
evening.  My  heart  is  almost  broken,  and  what  to  say  I  know 
not.  I  am  confounded ;  and,  in  the  multitude  of  my  thoughts, 
scarcely  a  ray  of  temporal  comfort  for  the  future  reaches  my  soul. 
What  a  dark  and  mysterious  providence  to  our  Diocese  !  Alston 
studied  in  my  house,  grew  up  strong  and  vigorous,  and  I  leaned 
upon  him.  The  destro}*er  struck  him,  and  he  died  in  my  arms. 
Tomes  came  into  my  family,  was  trained  to  the  Ministry  under 
my  own  direction,  and  became  m}T  son.  He  was  active,  practi- 
cal, and  reliable ;  and  I  once  more  had  a  prop  on  which  I  could 
lean.  Death  has  again  come,  and  blasted  my  hopes.  As  Dr. 
Pise  said  to  me,  the  other  day,  l  Bishop,  bad  men  come  here  to 
be  disciplined:  good  men  come  here  to  die.'  Such  has  been  the 
history  of  my  poor  afflicted  Diocese.  Oh  that  I  could  receive 
these  things  and  accept  them  as  tokens  of  God's  fatherly  care 
and  favor  !  Alston  is  gone  !  Tomes  is  gone  ! — gone  in  the  loveli- 
ness of  their  lives,  in  the  fulness  of  their  usefulness,  and  in  the 
goodliness  of  their  Ministrj7.  All  these  things  are  against  me." 

Again,  in  another  letter  to  Dr.  Quintard,  he  writes :  — 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  89 

"  I  have  visited,  on  an  average,  every  congregation  of  my  Dio- 
cese twice  every  year.  I  have  travelled  by  all  sorts  of  convey- 
ances, in  all  weathers,  —  storm  and  tempest  as  well  as  sunshine; 
have  preached,  labored,  and  taught  from  house  to  house ;  have 
traversed  mountains,  and  the  lonely  wilderness  where  no  man 
dwelt ;  and  have  left  no  expedient  untried  to  make  full  proof  of 
my  Ministry :  I  have,  most  painfully  to  myself,  exercised  disci- 
pline oftener  than  all  the  Bishops  of  the  South-West,  —  all,  that 
I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  testify  to  the  Gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God.  Forgive  me  this  foolish  boasting,  as  saith 
St.  Paul.  I  have  gone  generally  over  the  South- West.  At  one 
time,  the  limits  of  my  spiritual  jurisdiction,  laid  upon  me  by  the 
Church,  were  Kentucky  and  Missouri  on  the  north,  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  on  the  south ;  and  stretching  between  the  eastern 
shores  of  Florida,  and  the  Pacific." 

Though  often  in  bad  health,  he  overcame  bodily  in- 
firmity by  great  mental  energy,  and  bore  up  under 
fatigue  with  a  cheerful  spirit,  until  he  was  literally 
worn  out  with  labor. 

It  has  already  been  noticed,  that  the  Bishop  in  his 
youth  was  of  a  robust  and  hardy  frame.  But  it  was 
not  long  after  his  settlement  in  Tennessee,  before  con- 
finement to  his  schoolroom,  and  his  love  of  study, 
brought  upon  him  that  "  old  man  of  the  sea,"  dyspepsia, 
which  clung  to  him,  in  one  or  other  of  its  many  forms, 
to  the  end  of  his  days.  To  this  was  added  frequent  and 
excruciating  pain  in  the  back,  brought  on,  doubtless,  by 
repeated  exposure  to  all  weathers,  and  long  journey- 
ings  with  too  little  intermediate  rest.  We  are  not  sur- 
prised, therefore,  to  see  in  his  diary  such  entries  as 
these :  — 

"JAN.  3,  1854.  Arose  feeling  very  unwell  through  an  act  of 
civility  to  a  friendly  neighbor.  It  is  surprising  how  few  persons 


90  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

understand  what  is  real  good-breeding.  Last  night  I  was  com- 
pelled, as  I  may  say,  to  eat ;  although  I  begged  to  be  excused, 
with  the  express  statement  that  oj'sters  would  make  me  sick." 

Not  long  after,  he  writes  again :  — 

"APRIL  14.  Weather  rainy,  cold,  and  wind}T.  My  dyspeptic 
symptoms  have  all  returned  in  full  force.  This  disease  disqualifies 
me  for  the  performance  of  almost  ever}'  dut}* ;  insomuch  that  I 
have  not  the  spirit  left,  even  to  engage  in  private  religious  duties, 
such  as  reading  and  prayers." 

"APRIL  18,  1862.  Good  Friday.  A  day  of  pain  and  suffer- 
ing to  me,  from  early  dawn  to  dewy  eve.  But  what  are  all  suf- 
ferings, compared  with  those  which  my  blessed  Saviour  endured  for 
me  this  da}T?  Then,  let  me  submit  without  a  murmur,  and  take 
patiently  all  that  the  Lord  may  appoint." 

By  some  of  the  friends  of  Bishop  Otey,  his  position 
and  opinions  with  regard  to  our  late  war  have  not  been 
rightly  understood.  By  birth  and  early  training,  the 
Bishop  was  what  is  generally  called  an  "old-line  Whig," 
and  a  staunch  supporter  of  law  and  Constitution.  It  was 
therefore  with  anxious  and  fearful  forebodings  that  he 
saw  in  the  intermeddling  and  oppressive  proceedings  of 
one  portion  of  our  people,  and  the  equally  bold  and 
retaliating  defiance  of  the  other,  the  foreboding  horrors 
of  an  internecine  war. 

In  view  of  the  coming  storm,  he  wrote  a  number 
of  letters  of  warning  and  deprecation  to  his  brother 
Bishops  both  North  and  South.  To  Bishop  Alonzo 
Potter  he  writes,  May  28,  1860  :  — 

"I  send  you  by  mail  a  letter  which  I  have  addressed  to  the 
Hon.  William  H.  Seward.  I  can  hardly  expect,  in  the  present 
feverish  and  excited  state  of  the  public  mind  in  the  North,  that 
any  attention  will  be  given  to  it.  Yet  I  am  sure,  that,  if  its  state- 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  91 

ments  could  be  listened  to,  they  ought  to  warn  our  countrymen  of 
the  terrific  danger  into  which  they  are  about  to  rush,  c  as  the  horse 
rusheth  into  the  battle.'  For  the  life  of  me,  I  cannot  see  why  the 
Southern  States  cannot  be  permitted  to  separate  from  the  North 
in  peace,  when  the  North  says  it  desires  to  be  rid  of  an  associa- 
tion which  it  regards  as  an  incumbrance,  a  disgrace,  and  a  sin. 
The  idea  of  attacking  the  North  is  as  foreign  from  our  purposes 
and  intentions  as  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca." 

In  a  letter  to  Bishop  Polk,  Dec.  8,  1860,  he  writes :  — 

u  Until  within  a  few  days  past,  my  confidence  was  strong  that 
there  was  left  among  the  people  at  large  an  abiding  love  of  coun- 
try, and  a  respect  for  order  and  the  supremacy  of  law,  that  would 
resist  the  madness  and  the  arts  of  those  who  are  moving  all  the 
baser  passions  of  our  nature  to  plunge  this  nation  into  a  gulf  of 
horrors  and  sufferings  to  which  the  past  history  of  the  world  fur- 
nishes no  parallel.  It  is  God  alone  that  can  still  the  madness  of 
the  people.  Our  national  sins  and  ingratitude,  I  fear,  have  so 
provoked  His  wrath,  that  now  there  is  no  remed}*.  To  what  quar- 
ter shall  we  look,  when  such  men  as  you  and  Elliott  deliberately 
favor  secession?  What  can  we  expect,  other  than  mob-law  and 
violence  among  the  masses,  when  the  men  of  peace,  the  fathers  of 
the  land,  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  are  found  on  the 
side  of  those  who  openly  avow  their  determination  to  destroy  the 
work  which  our  fathers  established  at  the  expense  of  their  blood, 
their  fortunes,  and  some  of  them  their  lives?  " 

Again,  in  writing  to  a  friend,  June    20,   1861,  he 

says,  — 

"  With  the  noble,  just,  and  patriotic  sentiments  of  your  letter, 
I  most  fully  and  cordially  concur.  The  unnatural  —  and,  may  I 
not  add,  in  many  respects  the  unnecessary  —  contest  now  going  on 
in  our  distracted  country  is  without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the 
world.  Where,  in  the  history  of  man,  has  force  of  arms  prevailed 
to  subdue  a  people  to  the  obedience  of  love?  And  what  is  the 
worth  of  any  government  without  the  affections  of  its  subjects? 


92  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

Oh,  sir !  I  would  gladly  give  all  I  possess,  and,  I  believe,  my  life, 
willingty,  if  therebj7  the  genial  rays  of  peace,  blessed  peace,  might 
once  again  enlighten  and  bless  our  land." 

To  Commander  M.  F.  Maury,  his  former  pupil,  he 
writes,  Sept.  3,  1860  :  — 

"  The  apprehensions  which  }TOU  express  about  the  stability  of 
our  times  fill  me  with  just  alarm.  I  know  that  your  position  is 
favorable  to  the  formation  of  reliable  conclusions,  and  that  }TOU  are 
not  given  to  the  indulgence  of  groundless  fears.  Surety  there  is 
enough  of  the  conservative  element  left  among  us  —  enough  of 
virtue,  love  of  order,  and  enlightened  patriotism,  among  the  peo- 
ple—  to  form  a  wall  of  fire  around  the  citadel  of  our  liberties,  if 
it  could  be  prevailed  on  to  step  out,  and  boldly  avow  itself  on  the 
side  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  land.  But  here  lies  the 
difficulty :  the  men  of  the  North,  of  information,  and  of  sterling 
patriotism,  have  for  years  stood  aloof  from  the  disgusting  con- 
flicts of  party  organization,  and  permitted  the  demagogues  and 
newspaper-editors  to  make  public  opinion,  and  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  irresponsible  conventions,  to  mislead  the  masses, 
and  control  the  elections.  The  practical  working  of  our  politi- 
cal machine!1}'  in  the  election  of  President  and  Vice-President  is 
changed  from  what  our  forefathers  contemplated  ;  insomuch  that 
our  electors  are  mere  ciphers,  performing  functions  prescribed  by 
the  Constitution,  which  any  schoolboy  or  mill-boy  might  execute  as 
well." 

An  extract  from  a  letter  to  another  friend  (Nov.  23, 
1860)  says,— 

4 'Leave  the  question  of  union  or  disunion  to  the  people  to- 
morrow morning,  and  I  verity  believe  that  a  majority  in  South 
Carolina  and  in  all  the  Southern  States  will  vote  for  the  Union. 
They  will  be  ready  to  fight,  — so  am  I,  —  but  under  and  for  the 
Constitution.  .  .  .  The  Peaks  of  Otter  }ret  stand  firm.  Under 
their  shadow  I  can  yet  find  a  resting-place." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  93 

From  these  extracts  may  plainly  be  seen  the  Chris- 
tian-like and  truly  patriotic  views  of  Bishop  Otey,  as 
he  looked  backward  to  the  once  contented  and  united 
condition  of  our  people,  and  contrasted  it  with  the  dis- 
sension and  bitter  contentions  daily  growing  up  among 
them.  Up  to  the  loth  of  April,  1861,  when  President 
Lincoln  called  for  an  army  of  seventy-five  thousand  men 
to  invade  the  South,  and  deprive  the  States  of  their 
Constitutional  rights,  the  constant  desire  and  prayer  of 
his  heart  was  for  peace  and  union.  But  when  the  blow 
was  struck,  and  all  hope  for  peace  was  gone,  his  same 
exalted  views  of  the  duties  of  the  patriot  and  the  citizen 
led  him  to  bestow  his  sympathy  and  his  prayers  upon 
his  native  South  and  his  more  immediate  friends  and 
neighbors.  The  fire  of  his  Revolutionary  Fathers  was 
kindled  within  him  at  the  mere  hearing  of  the  intended 
subjugation  of  the  South.  In  closing  a  long  letter 
(May  24,  1861)  to  one  of  his  daughters,  he  says, — 

u  And  now,  my  dear  child,  you  ask  me  if  I  think  the  cause  of 
the  South  just,  and  that  God  will  favor  and  defend  us.  I  answer : 
In  very  deed,  I  do.  Up  to  the  period  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclama- 
tion, inaugurating  war  by  usurping  powers  belonging  alone  to 
Congress,  I  clung  steadfastly  to  the  hope  of  preserving  the  Union, 
though  all  around  me  were  against  me.  But  when  that  came  ; 
when  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  was  made  the  pretext  for  declar- 
ing the  South  in  a  state  of  outlawry,  outside  of  the  protection 
which  all  civilized  nations  extend  to  their  own  subjects  ;  when  I 
read,  in  the  public  journals  of  the  countr}7,  that  religion  itself  was 
invoked  to  lend  its  sanction  to  denunciations  of  vengeance  at 
which  the  blood  runs  cold,  and  against  which  men  of  the  Old 
World  remonstrated  as  barbarous  and  atrocious  ;  when  I  heard, 
on  undoubted  authority,  that  the  flag  of  the  Federal  Union  was 
raised  on  the  towers  and  spires  of  Christian  temples,  above  the 


94  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

Cross,  and  that  the  War-eagle,  the  '  abomination  of  desolation,' 
was  standing  (in  the  place  where  it  ought  not)  in  the  sanctuar3T  of 
God,  —  then,  and  not  till  then,  did  I  say  to  myself,  '  Whom  God 
forsakes,  and  gives  up  to  blindness  and  delusion,  I  will  forsake 
also.  I  will  no  more  stand  up  for  a  Union  whose  supporters  dese- 
crate all  that  is  holy,  and,  in  the  madness  and  blindness  of  their 
rage,  forget  that  they  are  men,  and  bear  the  name  of  Christians.' 
And  now  I  look  to  God  with  confidence  in  his  favor  and  protec- 
tion." 

To  a  Northern  Clergyman  (May  7,  1861)  who  was 
thinking  of  coming  into  his  Diocese,  he  writes :  — 

"As  to  your  coming  South,  let  me  just  here  state,  for  all,  that 
you  wholly  misapprehend  the  spirit  of  our  people.  We  ask  not  one 
thing  of  the  North  which  has  not  been  secured  to  us  by  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  since  they  were  established  and  enacted,  and 
which  has  been  granted  to  us  until  within  a  few  years  past.  We 
demand  no  sacrifices,  nor  the  surrender  of  Northern  rights  and 
privileges.  The  party  that  elected  Mr.  Lincoln  proclaimed  uncom- 
promising hostility  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  —  an  institution 
which  existed  here,  and  has  done  so  from  its  beginning,  in  its 
patriarchal  character.  We  feel  ourselves  under  the  most  solemn 
obligations  to  take  care  of,  and  to  provide  for,  these  people  who 
cannot  provide  for  themselves.  Nearly  every  Free-soil  State  has 
prohibited  them  from  settling  in  their  territory.  Where  are  they 
to  go?  We  implored  our  Northern  brethren  to  let  us  alone.  We 
ask  now  to  be  let  alone.  We  ask  nothing  more.  We  have  said, 
4  Take  the  nav}T,  the  army,  the  public  property,  only  let  us  be  to 
ourselves  in  peace ;  let  us  alone  to  do  our  life's  business,  as  you 
do  yours.' ' 

To  another  friend  he  writes,  December,  1862 :  — 

4 '  What  does  a  man  do  when  he  swears  allegiance  to  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States?  Does  his  oath  bind  him  to  support 
that  instrument  as  he  understands  its  meaning,  or  as  its  meaning 
is  defined  and  interpreted  by  the  Supreme  Court?  If  the  latter, 
then  I  submit  that  he  binds  himself  to  oppose  the  measure  of 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  95 

President  Lincoln,  who,  in  the  judgment  of  the  entire  South,  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  the  world,  has  overleaped 
the  boundaries  of  his  Constitutional  authority,  and  violated  the 
plainest  provisions  of  the  Constitution  itself.  ...  I  am  for  peace  ; 
my  vocation  obliges  me  to  preach  peace,  and  I  do  so  in  accord- 
ance with  my  natural  disposition.  I  pray  for  peace  daily." 

From  all  this  it  plainly  appears  that  Bishop  Otey, 
while  believing  with  many  others  of  the  cooler  and  wiser 
heads,  both  North  and  South,  in  the  right  of  the  States 
to  a  peaceable  separation,  deprecated  the  thought  with 
all  his  heart,  though  painfully  alive  to  the  assaults 
which  the  fanatical  zeal  of  the  people  of  the  North, 
and  the  oppressive  acts  of  a  partisan  Administration, 
had  made  upon  the  South. 

At  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  April,  1861,  by  a 
unanimous  vote  of  both  Clergy  and  laity,  the  Bishop  was 
requested  to  prepare  a  Pastoral  Letter  to  his  people,  on 
the  dangers  of  the  times ;  and  to  recommend  to  them 
suitable  devotions  for  public  and  private  use. 

Much  has  been  said  and  thought  on  the  propriety  of 
Bishop  Folk's  acceptance  of  the  military  appointment 
tendered  him  by  the  President  of  the  Confederacy.  It 
was  a  distinction  neither  sought  nor  expected,  and  noth- 
ing but  a  strong  sense  of  duty  to  a  wronged  and  suffer- 
ing people  would  have  made  him  give  heed  to  it  for  a 
moment.  It  was  a  subject,  to  him,  of  much  and  anxious 
prayer.  Before  coming  to  a  final  determination,  he  laid 
the  matter  before  his  old  friend  Bishop  Meade  of  Vir- 
ginia, resolved  to  abide  by  his  advice.  He  found  the 
mind  of  the  good  old  Bishop  as  undecided  as  his  own. 
He  could  give  him  no  other  counsel  than,  "  Go,  and  do 


96  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

what  you  think  is  right."  That  Bishop  Otey  approved 
it,  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  his  to  Bishop 
Meade,  December,  1861,  will  show:  — 

"  I  am  better  satisfied  than  ever,  that  Bishop  Polk  is  where  he 
is,  by  God's  will,  and  not  his  own." 

In  a  letter  to  Bishop  (now  General)  Polk,  of  nearly 
the  same  date,  he  writes  :  — 

"My  BELOVED  BROTHER, — Upon  returning  home,  dajT  before 
yesterday,  I  received  copies  of  letters  addressed  to  you  by  Mr. 
Memminger  and  the  President,  on  the  subject  of  your  resigning 
3*our  command  in  the  Confederate  arm}'.  If  a  doubt  lingered  in 
your  mind  as  to  the  propriety  of  your  retaining  the  position  into 
which  you  have  been  called  by  the  providence  of  God,  it  seems  to 
me  that  it  should  be  removed  by  the  statements  and  reasonings  of 
those  letters.  Your  letter  of  the  6th  of  November,  tendering  the 
resignation  of  }'our  commission  as  Major-General,  of  which  I  have 
just  made  a  copy,  will  triumphantly  indicate  the  purity  of  your 
motives,  and  the  high  and  noble  considerations  which  have  in- 
fluenced your  course;  and  will  justify  the  retention  of  your  com- 
mand, in  the  view  of  all  reflecting  and  right-minded  men.  If 
examples  of  men  of  like  profession  and  similarly  situated  with  }'ou, 
who  have  been  called  to  take  up  arms  for  the  defence  of  the  altars 
of  God  and  their  country,  be  called  for,  they  can  be  readily  fur- 
nished from  the  records  of  Holy  Writ.  The  conduct  of  Phinehas 
(Num.  xxv.  11)  was  so  praiseworthy  that  the  inspired  David  says 
it  was  '  counted  to  him  for  righteousness,  through  all  posterities 
for  evermore.'  And  did  not  Samuel,  the  minister  of  God  from 
his  very  infancy,  lead  forth  the  hosts  of  Israel  to  battle,  and  with 
his  own  hand  slay  the  king  of  Amalek?  " 

It  may  here  be  well  to  give  a  copy  of  Bishop  Folk's 
letter  of  resignation,  alluded  to  in  the  above  ex- 
tract :  — 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  97 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  IST  DIVISION,  WESTERN  DEPARTMENT, 
COLUMBUS,  KY.,  Nov.  6,  1861. 

To  HIS  EXCELLENCY  JEFFERSON  DAVIS, 

President  Confederate  States  of  America. 

/Str,  —  You  will  remember  with  what  reluctance  I  consented  to 
accept  the  commission  of  Major-General  in  the  Provisional  army. 
You  will  remember  also  that  the  considerations  inducing  my  accept- 
ance were  the  duty  which  I  felt  I  owed  to  the  country  at  whose 
hands  I  had  received  a  military  education,  in  connection  with  the 
difficulty  of  your  finding  a  commander  to  whom  you  were  willing 
to  intrust  the  department  3'ou  wished  to  assign  to  me. 

These  considerations,  supported  by  the  conviction  that  "  resist- 
ance to  tyrants  is  duty  to  God,"  warranted  my  turning  aside  from 
employments  far  more  congenial  to  my  feelings  and  tastes,  to  de- 
vote myself,  for  the  time,  to  the  military  service  of  the  country.  I 
have  been  in  that  service  now  more  than  four  months,  and  have 
devoted  myself  with  untiring  constanc}^  to  the  duties  of  my  office  ; 
with  what  efficiency  and  success,  the  country  must  judge.  Within 
the  last  few  weeks,  you  have  been  able  to  avail  yourself  of  the 
services  of  a  distinguished  military  commander,  our  mutual  friend, 
who  was  not  in  the  country  at  the  date  of  my  appointment,  and 
upon  whom  you  have  devolved  (partly  at  my  instance)  the  duties 
of  the  office  I  consented  to  fill.  It  will,  I  believe,  be  agreed  upon 
all  hands,  that  a  more  judicious  selection  could  not  have  been 
made,  and  that  his  military  knowledge  and  experience  will  supply 
all  that  was  needed.  I  have  been  willing  to  remain  as  second  in 
command  until  the  fortifications  at  Fort  Pillow  and  this  very  im- 
portant point  were  completed.  This  has  now  been  substantially 
done,  and  I  feel  that  as  the  necessity  which  induced  me  to  take 
office  no  longer  exists,  and  as  the  other  General  officers  with  whom 
I  have  been  associated  are  men  of  ability  and  experience,  I  may 
be  permitted  to  retire,  and  resume  my  former  pursuits. 

I  beg  leave,  therefore,  to  tender  to  you  the  resignation  of  my 
commission  as  Major-General  of  the  Provisional  army  of  the  Con- 
federate States. 

I  remain,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

L.   POLK,  Major-General  Commanding. 


98  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

The  year  1861  was  one  of  varied  and  unusual  trial  to 
the  Bishop  of  Tennessee.  Previous  years  had  seen  him 
laboring  under  occasional  attacks  of  disease,  and  mourn- 
ing over  the  graves  of  three  beloved  children :  now  con- 
tinued suffering  marred  his  enjoyment  by  day,  and 
"  held  his  eyes  waking  by  night."  But,  more  than  all, 
he  was  now  about  to  drink  of  a  cup  bitterer  still.  The 
wife  of  his  bosom,  the  mother  of  his  children,  the  loved 
companion  of  forty  years,  was  about  to  be  taken  from 
him.  He  thus  begins  the  mournful  story :  — 

"  MAY  29:  My  wife  very  unwell ;  I  decline  going  to  Nash- 
ville." 

"  MAY  30.     Wife  no  better." 

"  MAY  31.     No  improvement  in  my  wife's  condition." 

u  JUNE  1.  My  wife  is  growing  weaker.  Her  physicians  pro- 
nounce her  situation  to  be  one  of  great  danger,  and  give  us  but 
little  hope." 

"JUNE  2.  Our  only  hope  is  in  God.  This  morning  she  par- 
took of  the  Holy  Communion  with  myself,  my  daughter  Donna, 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Hines.  Have  spent  this  whole  day  at  her  bedside, 
in  the  alternation  of  hope  and  despair." 

"  JUNE  3.  No  relief.  She  will  soon  be  gone  ;  and  I  who  have 
lived  with  her  and  for  her,  forty  years,  will  be  left  alone,  to  tread 
the  pilgrimage  of  a  weary  world,  and  have  nothing  to  do  but  work 
out  my  salvation.  After  praying  with  her,  and  commending  her 
soul  to  God,  1  inform  her  that  her  death  is  near  at  hand.  She 
would  rather  live,  for  her  children's  sake  ;  but  meekty  resigns  her- 
self to  God's  will." 

"  JUNE  4.  At  8  A.M.  she  was  released  from  suffering,  and  all 
the  pains  of  mortality,  and  received,  we  humbly  trust,  into  the 
blissful  Paradise  of  God." 

June  7,  we  find  this  entry :  — 

"Feel  inexpressibly  sad.     My  thoughts  revert,  almost  every 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  99 

moment,  to  my  dear  wife.     In  my  recollections  of  home  or  domes- 
tic affairs,  she  is  intimately  present." 

Of  the  depth  of  his  feelings  on  that  occasion,  we  may 
form  some  conception  from  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  addressed  to  a  valued  friend,  not  long  after  the 
event : — 

"  DEAR,  DEAR  MRS.  — WOOD,  Your  kind  letter  of  the  7th  has 
just  reached  me.  I  thank  you  for  the  expression  of  your  condo- 
lence and  sympathy,  most  sincerely.  I  know  it  is  the  spontaneous 
offering  of  one  that  loves  me.  But  my  heart  is  almost  broken. 
My  hearthstone  is  cold  and  cheerless,  and  the  light  of  m}r  dwelling 
is  put  out.  No  language  that  I  can  command  can  adequately  ex- 
press the  sense  of  desolation  which  has  come  over  all  my  earthly 
prospects  and  plans.  I  strive  to  pray  that  no  murmuring  thought 
may  find  a  place  in  my  heart,  and  no  word  of  complaint  escape 
from  the  door  of  my  lips.  For  I  know  that  God  in  very  faithful- 
ness has  afflicted  me.  I  have  now  lost  father,  mother,  brothers, 
sisters,  children,  and  wife.  With  what  form  of  domestic  afflic- 
tion and  bereavement  can  I  not  now  sympathize?  With  all  sor- 
rowing people  I  can  weep.  The  condolence  of  friends  is  not 
without  its  solace.  It  is,  alas  !  the  only  human  comfort  left  us. 
...  I  need  rest.  I  want  to  be  alone,  —  at  least,  to  be  in  some 
quiet  and  retired  spot,  where  I  may  gather  up  the  fragments  of 
broken  hopes,  muse  on  the  past,  and  strive,  with  St.  Paul's  spirit, 
to  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my 
flesh,  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is  His  Church." 

In  the  month  of  November,  Bishop  Otey  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Confederate  troops,  then  at  Union  City,  Ky., 
under  the  command  of  General  Polk.  In  his  diary  he 
writes :  — 

"  Nov.  19.  Slept  in  the  General's  tent  last  night,  and  had 
much  interesting  and  gratifying  conversation  with  him,  especially 


100  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

about  his  position,  and  his  earnest  desire  and  efforts  to  be  relieved 
from  it.  We  had  sweet  communion  in  prayer,  morning  and  night. 
He  stands  higher  in  my  love  and  esteem  than  ever." 

The  last  entry  in  this  year  is  as  follows  :  — 


" 


DEC.  81.  Thus  am  I  brought  by  the  merciful  goodness  of 
God  to  the  close  of  another  year.  Truly  may  I  say  with  David, 
'  Oh,  what  great  troubles  hast  Thou  showed  me !  yet  hast  Thou 
delivered  me  out  of  them  all.'  Would  that  I  might  ever  be  able 
to  exercise  the  faith  and  hope  of  blessed  Paul,  saying,  '  I  know 
that  the  Lord  will  deliver  me  out  of  all  evil,  and  bring  me  to  His 
everlasting  kingdom.'  Thanks  be  to  God  for  all  His  mercies  !  " 

The  diary  of  the  Bishop  for  this  year,  though  it  tells 
of  war  and  its  fearful  accompaniments,  is  more  abun- 
dant than  ever  in  prayer,  and  pious  trust,  and  submis- 
sion to  the  Divine  will. 

Jan.  3,  being  invited  to  take  part  in  the  consecration 
of  Rev.  Richard  H.  Wilmer,  we  find  his  answer  in  this 
brief  but  significant  entry :  — 

"  Wrote  this  day  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Massey,  informing  him  of  my 
inability  to  attend,  for  want  of  money." 

Another  reason  might  be  here  assigned,  —  a  breach 
of  etiquette,  amounting  to  a  want  of  respect,  on  the 
part  of  Bishop  Meade,  the  then  Presiding  Bishop,  in 
not  assigning  to  Bishop  Otey  his  proper  position  on  that 
occasion. 

"MARCH  22.  My  excellent,  long- tried,  and  faithful  friend 
A.  O.  Harris  died  yesterday.  He  was  one  of  the  best  men  I  have 
ever  known.  He  was  the  most  prominent  layman  in  this  Diocese 
for  thirty  years.  He  was  liberal  of  his  means,  and  ever  prompt 
in  the  performance  of  good  and  charitable  deeds.  He  was  a  man 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  101 

of  exemplar}-  piety,  and  a  well-informed  and  sound  Churchman. 
He  was  a  loving  husband,  and  affectionate  father,  and  the  only 
member  of  the  Church  in  Tennessee,  who,  to  my  knowledge,  has 
remembered  the  poor  in  his  will. ' ' 

44  MARCH  31.  Bishop  Green  called  in  this  morning,  and  spent 
most  of  the  day  with  me.  We  had  much  interesting  conversation 
on  various  subjects ;  among  others,  about  the  matter  of  my  con- 
sent given  to  the  consecration  of  Rev.  Dr.  Stevens  to  be  the 
Assistant  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania.  Bishop  Green,  after  hearing 
the  reasons  given  by  me  for  my  course,  expressed  himself  well 
satisfied  ;  and  said,  that,  viewed  as  a  legal  or  canonical  question, 
I  was  clearly  in  the  right." 

Early  in  the  year,  Bishop  Otey  had  promised  General 
Polk  that  he  would  visit  a  portion  of  his  Diocese  for 
him ;  but  he  soon  after  found  himself  without  the 
health  or  strength  to  undertake  it.  He  was  then  ad- 
vised by  his  physicians  to  try  the  virtues  of  the  Hot 
Springs  in  Arkansas,  but  his  fast-failing  strength  for- 
bade the  attempt.  He  then  determined  to  visit  the 
famous  Cooper's  Well,  near  Jackson,  Miss.  After  a 
trial  of  a  few  weeks,  with  but  little  benefit,  he  passed 
over  to  Jackson,  and  in  that  place  and  its  neighborhood 
spent  four  months  with  old  friends  who  were  only  too 
glad  to  see  him  once  more,  and  to  minister  to  him  in 
his  declining  condition.  After  setting  out  on  his  re- 
turn, he  heard  of  the  illness  of  his  son  Paul,  in  Mobile, 
hurried  to  his  bedside,  and  did  not  leave  him  until  he 
was  fully  recovered.  Before  reaching  home  he  spent 
a  week  or  two  in  the  house  of  a  gentleman,  a  near  con- 
nection of  the  family ;  and  makes  this  entry  in  his 
diary :  — 


102  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

"  SUNDAY,  23d.  This  holy  day  has  been  spent,  I  fear,  without 
profit  to  myself  or  others.  I  expected  that  the  heads  of  the  house 
would  assemble  their  servants  and  household,  and  propose  that  I 
should  have  prayers,  and  address  them  on  the  high  concernments 
of  the  soul.  But  no  such  movement  was  made.  I  am  resolved, 
if  here  next  Sunday,  it  shall  not  pass  as  this  has  done,  if  I  can 
help  it." 

When  the  Bishop  reached  Memphis  on  the  4th  of 
October,  1862,  it  was  to  find  the  place  in  possession  of 
the  Federal  troops,  under  General  Sherman,  and  a  state 
of  alarm  and  confusion  pervading  the  citizens.  His 
house  rested  firm  on  its  foundation,  but  it  had  been 
stripped  of  one-half  of  its  furniture  and  clothing  by 
his  faithless  and  ungrateful  servants.  Never  had  there 
been  a  kinder  master,  in  sickness  or  in  health,  to  either 
the  bodies  or  souls  of  those  who  were  in  subjection 
to  him.  When,  against  all  law  and  justice,  his  slaves 
were  set  free,  he  plainly  foresaw  the  many  temptations 
to  which  they  would  be  exposed  ;  and,  assembling  them 
in  his  parlor,  warned  them  with  a  fatherly  affection 
against  the  destructive  views  into  which  their  new-born 
liberty  would  lead  them.  The  following  are  the  good 
Bishop's  reflections  on  the  subject :  — 

"  I  do  not  regret  the  departure  of  my  servants,  except  Lavinia 
and  Nora  (children  of  eight  and  seven  years  of  age)  :  I  pity 
them.  I  have  endeavored  to  treat  them  always  humanety.  They 
had  very  little  work  to  do  ;  were  always  taken  care  of  when  sick, 
as  other  members  of  m}*  family.  They  had  as  comfortable  rooms, 
and  as  many  necessary  comforts,  as  mj'self.  If  they  can  do  better 
by  leaving  me,  they  are  free  to  do  so.  I  told  them  this  before  I 
left  home." 

It  is  due  to  the  cause  of  justice,  if  not  generosity, 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  103 

to  state  here,  —  and  the  writer  takes  pleasure  in  doing 
it,  —  that  General  Sherman's  treatment  of  Bishop  Otey 
was  marked  not  only  with  respect,  but  with  kind  atten- 
tion. He  would  not  compel  the  Bishop  to  take  the 
usual  oath  of  allegiance,  saying  that  his  word  was  suffi- 
cient, and  allowing  him  the  full  freedom  of  the  city. 
He  frequently  attended  the  Bishop's  services,  and  on 
his  departure  addressed  to  him  a  kind  and  complimen- 
tary letter.  At  one  time,  by  way  of  retaliation  for  some 
atrocities  committed  by  a  few  of  our  volunteer  soldiers, 
known  as  "  bushwhackers,"  an  order  was  given  for  a 
number  of  the  chief  citizens  of  Memphis  to  leave  the 
city  immediately.  The  Bishop  appeared  before  the  Gen- 
eral in  their  behalf,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  from 
him  both  a  modification  and  a  suspension  of  the  order. 
At  the  same  time,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  General 
Pemberton,  then  in  command  of  the  Confederate  troops 
in  Vicksburg,  informing  him  of  the  serious  retaliatory 
measures  to  which  the  best  citizens  of  the  place  were 
exposed,  on  account  of  these  lawless  actions  of  the 
guerrillas ;  and  earnestly  requesting  that  he  would  dis- 
claim and  as  far  as  possible  restrain  them. 

But  the  end  was  drawing  near.  A  laborious  life  of 
sixty-three  years  —  two-thirds  of  it  spent  in  the  Min- 
istry, and  in  circumstances  of  hardship  and  affliction  — 
was  now  to  give  way  to  the  rest  and  peace  of  the  grave. 
As  the  soldier  lays  aside  his  battered  arms  when  the 
fight  is  over,  and  as  the  weary  traveller  lies  down  to 
rest  with  the  setting  sun,  so  did  this  champion  of  Christ, 
this  worn-out  pilgrim  of  life's  weary  day,  lay  down  the 
burthen  which  he  had  borne  for  forty  years,  to  set  his 


104  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

house  in  order  for  the  coming  of  his  Lord.  He  had 
fought  the  good  fight ;  his  course  had  been  nobly  run. 
It  remained  for  him  only  to  bear  witness,  from  the 
borders  of  the  grave,  to  the  sustaining  power  of  the 
faith  which  he  had  preached  in  the  vigor  of  his  man- 
hood. That  proof  he  was  prepared  to  give. 

The  month  of  April,  which  brings  sunshine  to  the 
fields  of  the  laborer,  was  a  day  of  darkness  to  the 
friends  of  the  Church  in  Tennessee.  Unceasing  toil, 
official  and  domestic  care,  together  with  repeated  dis- 
appointments and  bereavements,  had  done  their  work. 
The  stalwart  form,  once  the  pride  and  admiration  of 
his  people,  must  now  return  to  the  feebleness  of  child- 
hood, and  give  way  to  the  power  of  disease.  But  with 
thankfulness  be  it  recorded,  that,  with  this  decay  of 
the  outward  man,  there  came  no  failure  of  intellect,  no 
faltering  of  faith  ;  but  rather  the  "  assurance  of  hope," 
and  a  foretaste  of  the  glory  which  is  to  be  revealed. 

In  addition  to  the  interesting  notices  to  be  found  in 
the  letters  of  his  two  daughters,  the  following  graphic 
account  taken  from  the  Address  of  Bishop  Quintard  to 
his  first  Convention  in  1866,  cannot  fail  to  enlist  the 
attention  of  the  reader :  — 

"  On  the  blessed  Easter  Day  before  his  departure,  he  received 
for  the  last  time,  the  Holy  Communion  of  the  Bod}^  and  Blood  of 
Christ,  at  the  hands  of  his  faithful  and  beloved  Presbyter,  Dr. 
Richard  Hines.  He  was  evidently  under  the  full  conviction  that 
he  was  about  to  partake,  for  the  last  time,  of  this  dj'ing  pledge 
of  a  Saviour's  love.  He  requested  that  the  General  Confession 
might  be  repeated  slowly.  He  clasped  the  cup  with  an  eager  but 
trembling  hand,  and  with  all  the  solemnity  of  a  dying  veteran 
who  desired  once  more  to  repeat  the  ground  of  the  faith  which  he 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  105 

had  so  loved  and  defended,  with  eyes  uplifted  to  heaven,  said,  '  I 
call  all  of  you  to  bear  witness  that  my  only  hope  for  salvation  is 
in  the  merits  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  Pie  afterwards  remarked, 
4 1  never,  in  all  my  life,  felt  such  perfect  readiness  to  depart.'  A 
few  days  before  his  death,  as  he  lay  weary  and  feeble  at  the  close 
of  the  day,  friends  who  had  called  came  to  his  bedside  to  say  fare- 
well. After  their  departure,  he  remarked,  '  Oh  that  I  had  breath 
to  talk  to  all  who  come  in  !  for  the  things  of  eternity  appear  so 
differently  to  those  in  perfect  health,  from  what  they  show  them- 
selves to  one  on  a  dying  bed.'  Again  he  said,  c  Oh,  to  depart, 
and  to  be  with  Christ !  Is  it  not  far  better  than  to  lie  here  linger- 
ing on  through  a  weaiy  and  painful  decay  of  bod}'  ?  '  Again,  with 
clasped  hands,  he  exclaimed,  as  though  overwhelmed  by  the  feel- 
ing, '  Oh  the  glory  of  Christ !  How  glorious  are  the  perfections 
of  God  ! '  The  next  day  his  mind  was  recalled  to  the  subject, 
and  he  replied,  4 1  do  not  remember  ;  it  is  all  gone  now  :  but,  while 
lying  here  upon  this  bed,  I  have  had  such  ravishing  views  of 
Christ,  and  of  the  glory  and  perfection  of  God's  character,  as  I 
have  no  language  to  describe.'  In  the  midst  of  his  wanderings, 
a  passage  of  Scripture,  or  any  portion  of  our  Church  Service, 
repeated  to  him,  never  failed  to  bring  calmness  to  his  mind,  and 
intelligence  to  his  eyes.  And  even  at  an  hour  when  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  dying,  and  the  power  of  articulation  seemed  to  be 
gone,  as  his  faithful  Presbyter  was  commending  his  soul  to  God 
in  the  beautiful  language  of  our  Prayer  Book,  there  came,  in  the 
faintest  whisper,  just  audible  and  no  more,  '  Our  Father  who  art 
in  heaven.'  And  so  he  departed  ;  and  we  shall  see  him  no  more, 
till  with  the  glorious  company  of  Patriarchs  and  Apostles,  the  noble 
army  of  Martyrs  and  Confessors,  we  enter  upon  that  rest  which 
remaineth  for  the  people  of  God." 

Bishop  Quintard  then  adds :  — 

"It  was  my  mournful  privilege  to  commit  his  body  to  the 
ground,  in  the  beautiful  churchyard  of  St.  John's  Church  at 
Ash  wood  in  Maury  County,  by  the  side  of  the  beloved  wife  and 
children  that  had  preceded  him." 


106  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Otey  to  state  here, 
in  connection  with  this  affecting  notice  of  his  death, 
that,  though  possessed  of  not  much  more  of  worldly 
goods  at  the  end  of  his  life  than  at  the  beginning,  he 
left  by  will  a  sum  of  money  to  be  invested  by  his  ex- 
ecutors, with  directions  to  pay  the  interest  annually  to 
such  one  of  the  Clergy  as,  under  the  appointment  of  the 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  should  deliver,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Convention,  a  sermon  on  the  kt  Divine  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Christian  Ministry." 

That  this  tranquil  and  composed  spirit  of  the  Bishop, 
this  readiness  to  depart  in  view  of  the  grave,  was  no 
evanescent  impulse,  or  a  mere  effect  of  excitement,  but 
the  legitimate  effect  of  an  enduring  faith,  may  be  con- 
vincingly established  by  the  following  testimony  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Hines,  who  tended  him  with  filial  affection 
through  the  whole  of  his  last  sickness.  In  a  letter 
addressed  to  one  of  the  Bishop's  daughters,  soon  after 
his  death,  Dr.  Hines  says, — 

"  During  an  attack  of  illness  some  eighteen  months  previous  to 
your  dear  father's  death,  he  remarked  to  me  as  follows:  'With 
regard  to  the  probability  of  my  death,  and  in  a  review  of  my  life,  I 
look  upon  it  as  I  did  when  gazing  for  the  last  time  upon  some  of 
the  charming  scenes  in  Europe,  —  some  of  those  magnificent  views 
among  the  Alps.  I  gazed  upon  them  with  feelings  of  regret,  when  I 
thought  I  should  never  behold  them  again.  Yet,  when  my  thoughts 
turned  to  the  beloved  ones  at  home,  across  the  sea,  all  regret  was  lost 
in  the  joyful  anticipation  of  meeting  them  once  more.  So,  in  look- 
ing back  over  the  scenes  of  my  past  life,  the  reflection  that  I  must 
leave  them,  with  all  the  dear  friends  that  remain  on  earth,  gives 
me  a  feeling  of  sadness.  But  when  I  remember  how  many  more 
"beloved  ones"  are  awaiting  me  on  the  other  side,  all  sadness  is 
lost  in  the  glorious  hope  of  a  meeting  beyond  the  skies.' ' 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  107 

The  Bishop's  will  directed  that  the  little  which  he 
would  leave  behind  him  should  be  divided  among 
his  children.  He  positively  forbade  the  publication  of 
his  manuscript  sermons ;  requested  that  no  other  ser- 
vice or  ceremony  should  be  used  at  his  interment  than 
the  Burial  Service  of  the  Prayer  Book ;  and  that  the 
marble  which  might  cover  his  remains  should  bear  no 
other  inscription  than  his  name,  his  birth  and  death,  and 
these  words:  "  The  first  Bishop  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Tennessee" 

It  may  be  well  here  to  make  a  brief  note  of  the  fam- 
ily, or  children,  of  the  Bishop.  Nine  were  born  to  him. 
Of  these,  three,  as  has  been  told,  preceded  him  to  the 
grave.  Paul,  one  of  his  elder-born,  survived  him :  he 
was  a  physician  of  some  eminence,  and- died  at  Memphis 
in  1873,  nobly  maintaining  his  post  amid  the  decimating 
pestilence  of  that  fatal  year.  There  now  remain  Mrs. 
Virginia  Minor;  Mrs.  Henrietta  C.  Tomes;  Mrs.  Mary 
F.  Govan ;  Mrs.  Eliza  (or  Donna)  Compton ;  and  Mer- 
cer, the  last-born  of  them  all,  who  was  a  young  and 
ardent  soldier  in  our  late  war. 

No  sooner  was  the  death  of  the  Bishop  known,  than 
numerous  tributes  of  regret  were  paid  to  his  memory,  in 
the  form  of  discourses  and  resolutions  and  eulogistic 
notices  of  the  press  ;  which,  if  gathered  together,  would 
form  a  volume  of  themselves.  The  two  following  are 
given  because  of  their  coming  from  those  two  quarters 
where  he  was  best  known,  and  which  had  shared  most 
largely  in  his  labors. 

In  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  Tennessee,  the  first 
that  was  held  after  the  decease  of  the  Bishop,  a  com- 


108  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

mittee  was  appointed  to  notice  in  becoming  manner  the 
great  loss  which  the  Diocese  had  sustained.  Of  this 
committee,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Quintard  was  chairman,  who 
reported  as  follows :  — 

"  Providence,  which  on  the  23d  of  April,  1863,  deprived  this 
Diocese  of  a  great  and  good  Bishop,  who  devoted  his  whole  life  to 
the  service  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-man,  comes  before 
our  minds  and  touches  our  hearts  with  peculiar  force  on  this  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Convention  since  his  decease. 

44  Endowed  with  a  large  capacity  of  mind,  and  with  a  warm, 
generous,  and  benevolent  heart ;  gifted  with  a  fervid  imagination 
and  an  impressive  eloquence  ;  learned  and  studious,  — he  was  inde- 
fatigably  industrious  in  preaching  the  Word  of  God  to  his  people. 

44  Though  often  feeble  in  health,  he  overcame  his  bodily  infirmi- 
ties by  great  mental  energy :  so  that  he  not  only  discharged  the 
laborious  duties  of  his  own  Diocese,  but  also  performed  Episcopal 
service  in  the  Dioceses  of  Mississippi  and  Arkansas  and  Louisiana 
and  Florida. 

44  His  sensibility  to  the  beautiful  was  extraordinary  ;  and  he  was 
distinguished  in  society  by  instructive  and  pleasing  powers  of  con- 
versation. 

44  He  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself  to  it  with  deliberate, 
enduring,  and  ever-increasing  devotion.  He  constantly  enforced 
from  the  pulpit  the  indispensable  importance  of  a  moral  and  reli- 
gious education  for  the  promotion  of  the  happiness  of  a  nation ; 
and  constantly  urged,  in  his  public  and  private  discourses,  that  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  when  truly  received,  rendered  society  attractive 
by  its  cultivating  social  influences,  inculcating  the  duty  of  submis- 
sion to  lawful  authorit}',  inspiring  the  noblest  motives,  and  shed- 
ding a  sweet  charm  over  every  scene  of  domestic  life. 

44  His  piety  was  exemplary  ;  and  in  all  the  various  relationships 
of  life,  as  a  father,  husband,  friend,  and  public  instructor,  he  was 
distinguished  for  his  noble  performance  of  every  duty,  with  enlight- 
enment, feeling,  and  affection." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  109 

About  the  same  time,  the  following  preamble  and  res- 
olution were  adopted  by  a  rising  vote  of  the  Diocesan 
Council  of  Mississippi :  — 

"It  having  pleased  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to  remove 
from  their  respective  spheres  of  labor  the  Right  Reverend  Fathers 
in  God,  James  Hervey  Otey,  D.D.,  and  Leonidas  Polk,  D.D., — 
the  late  Bishops  of  Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  — this  Council,  with 
humble  submission  to  the  Divine  will,  desires  to  testify  its  grati- 
tude for  the  eminent  services  they  rendered  to  this  Diocese.  Each 
of  them  for  a  season  exercised  Episcopal  jurisdiction  over  it,  and 
both  were  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God  in  laying  successfully  the 
foundations  of  His  Church  in  this  State.  They  now  rest  from  their 
labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them  in  the  permanent  blessings 
they  have  left  to  the  children  of  Christ. 

"The  late  Bishop  of  Tennessee  was  for  eight  years  the  Provis- 
ional Bishop  of  this  Diocese ;  and  as  a  devoted  Bishop  of  souls, 
who  gathered  many  of  us  into  the  fold,  has  peculiar  claims  to  our 
grateful  remembrance. 

"  As  the  senior  Bishop  of  the  Church  in  the  Confederate  States, 
and  the  first  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  the  South ;  and  as  a 
self-denying  and  laborious  apostle  of  Christ,  whose  life  was  spent 
in  His  Gospel,  and  teaching  men  to  obey  it  by  a  holy  example,  — 
he  will  long  live  in  the  affectionate  remembrance  of  our  people. 

"  The  late  Bishop  of  Louisiana  was  a  great  and  good  man,  who, 
in  all  the  relations  of  life,  filled  his  station  without  reproach.  As 
a  refined  Christian  gentleman,  a  humane  master,  a  useful  citizen, 
an  energetic  and  holy  Bishop,  and  the  founder  of  the  University 
of  the  South,  he  displayed  to  the  world  the  character  of  one  who 
loved  his  country,  his  Church,  and  his  God,  being  guided  in  all 
his  conduct  by  a  sense  of  dut}r  alone. 

"Resolved,  therefore,  that  this  Council  desires  to  record  this 
expression  of  its  love  and  gratitude  for  these  great  benefactors  of 
our  Church  and  native  land,  and  to  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy 
with  the  sorrows  of  their  bereaved  families  and  Dioceses. " 

At  that  same  Council,  Bishop  Green  in  his  Annual 
Address  thus  notices  the  subject :  — 


110  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

u  Since  we  were  last  permitted  to  meet  in  Council,  it  has  pleased 
God  to  take  to  himself  two  of  our  ablest  and  best-beloved  Fathers 
in  Christ,  —  Bishop  Otey  and  Bishop  Polk ;  the  one  taken  from 
his  own  peaceful  pillow  at  home,  the  other  snatched  violently  away 
while  in  defence  of  his  country. 

"  Seldom  has  the  Church  to  mourn,  at  one  time,  the  taking-off 
of  two  such  faithful  and  efficient  laborers. 

"As  long  as  honesty  and  guilelessness,  and  independence  of 
spirit,  and  patient  endurance  of  privation  and  of  unrewarded  labor, 
shall  be  valued  among  men,  the  name  of  Otey  will  be  repeated  by 
father  to  son  from  generation  to  generation. 

"  And  the  memory  of  Polk  will  flourish  in  its  greenness,  until 
all  that  ennobles  the  man,  the  Christian,  the  Bishop,  and  the 
patriot  shall  cease  to  be  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  men." 

It  may  be  well  to  add  here  the  following  extract 
from  a  sermon  delivered  by  the  venerable  and  Kev. 
Dr.  White,  who  for  several  years  was  associated 
with  Bishop  Otey  in  charge  of  Calvary  Church,  Mem- 
phis :  — 

"  The  history  of  the  Church  in  Tennessee  and  the  South-West 
cannot  be  written  without  special  reference  to  this  eminent  servant 
of  God.  He  was  to  every  one  the  friend  in  sorrow,  the  comforter 
in  affliction,  the  counsellor  in  difficult}'.  It  ma}'  be  safely  said 
that  no  Diocesan  ever  had  a  harder  field,  and  none  in  charge  of 
more  important  interests.  Although  pressed  by  the  duties  of  the 
Episcopate,  he  never  lost  sight  of  the  subject  of  education.  His 
unflagging  zeal  in  the  establishment  and  superintendence  of  the 
Female  Institute  in  Columbia,  his  efforts  to  organize  a  Theological 
Seminar}7,  and  his  successful  exertions  to  establish  the  University 
of  the  South,  attest  how  much  he  felt  for  the  moral  and  intellectual 
culture  of  our  youth.  He  was  justly  appointed  the  first  Chancellor 
of  that  University ;  and  when,  by  the  devastations  of  war,  its  site 
was  laid  waste,  he  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  giving  a  re- 
stored life  to  the  enterprise.  His  unsparing  devotion  and  untiring 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  Ill 

efforts  in  behalf  of  that  institution  are  well  known,  for  which  the 
Church  owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  only  generations  to 
come  will  be  able  to  calculate." 

It  has  already  been  stated  what  the  Bishop  was  in 
personal  appearance.  Before  he  began  to  bend  under 
the  combined  pressure  of  unwonted  labor  and  broken 
health,  he  stood  a  Saul  among  his  brethren,  being  full 
six  feet  and  four  inches  in  height,  and  well  proportioned 
throughout.  If  his  temper  had  been  of  the  savage 
order,  he  would  have  been  an  object  of  dread  to  all 
with  whom  he  might  come  in  conflict.  But  such  was 
the  gentleness  of  his  disposition,  and  his  power  of  self- 
control,  that  his  physical  greatness  helped  rather  to 
magnify  the  admiration  with  which  his  acquaintance 
always  regarded  him.  Such  a  frame  and  such  a  consti- 
tution would,  under  ordinary  treatment,  have  sustained 
its  possessor  through  an  entire  century.  If  ever  a  man 
could  be  said  to  labor  in  the  service  of  God  "  above 
measure,"  —  viz.,  above  what  an  indulgent  Being  "  who 
knoweth  our  frame  "  expects  or  demands  of  us,  —  that 
man  was  the  first  Bishop  of  Tennessee.  In  the  view 
of  the  world,  he  was  simply  the  Bishop,  or  overseer,  of 
the  field  set  before  him,  directing  and  encouraging  the 
laborers.  To  all  within  his  Diocese,  he  was  more,  —  he 
was  the  Pastor,  or  Good  Shepherd,  daily  going  in  and 
out  among  his  flock,  leading  them  by  his  example  to  the 
green  fields  and  sunny  pastures  of  God's  service.  To 
his  family  and  immediate  acquaintances,  he  was  more 
than  Bishop,  more  than  Pastor;  he  was  father,  brother, 
son,  nurse,  and  comforter  to  the  sick,  the  poor,  the 
afflicted  of  every  name. 


112  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

The  following  is  taken  from  a  letter  of  a  lady  (Mrs. 
William  Hardman)  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the 
Bishop  for  fifty  years.  It  was  written  to  his  youngest 
child  some  time  after  the  Bishop's  death. 

"  I  knew  j'our  father  well.  He  was  a  man  of  true  nobility  of 
soul,  with  a  heart  so  pure  that  no  stain  could  rest  upon  it.  He 
was  fearless  and  honest  and  conscientious.  His  character  was  like 
the  unblemished  pages  of  a  beautiful  volume,  filled  with  generous 
deeds  and  noble  sacrifices.  The  work  he  undertook  and  performed 
with  an  indomitable  will  was  too  much  for  any  one  man,  and  I 
cannot  wonder  that  his  once  strong  and  vigorous  constitution  gave 
way  under  it.  ...  He  was  with  our  family  in  many  trying  scenes 
and  afflictions,  pouring  the  oil  of  comfort  into  our  sorrowing  souls, 
bringing  us  nearer  to  God,  and  teaching  our  hearts  how  to  submit 
themselves  to  His  wise  and  blessed  will." 

The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  will  give  the 
reader  some  idea  of  the  faithful  and  untiring  labor  which 
he  performed  until  he  could  labor  no  longer.  They 
may  serve  also  to  exhibit  his  tender-hearted  feelings 
as  a  parent,  the  manifold  duties  devolved  upon  him  by 
his  high  position,  and  the  humble  and  devout  spirit  in 
which  he  received  the  many  chastenings  with  which  it 
pleased  God,  from  time  to  time,  to  purify  him.  He 
began  to  keep  a  diary  in  1833,  and  continued  it  to  the 
end  of  1862.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that,  through 
the  destructive  effects  of  war  and  its  consequences,  much 
of  it  has  been  lost.  The  diary  of  each  year  was  kept 
in  a  little  book  to  itself.  The  perusal  of  any  one  of 
these  little  annuals  will  abundantly  show  the  punctual 
and  business-like  habits  of  the  Bishop.  Every  letter 
received,  and  every  letter  written,  is  noted  at  the  mo- 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  113 

ment ;  and  many  a  little  family  expense  may  be  found 
on  the  same  page  with  some  grave  official  record. 

He  was  scrupulously  particular  in  thus  recording  the 
various  Baptisms  and  Confirmations  which  he  performed 
in  his  widely  extended  field  of  labor,  and  especially  in 
all  places  where  there  was  no  settled  Minister ;  and  he 
thus  gives  his  reasons  for  it :  — 

"  To  ascertain  the  certainty  of  one's  Baptism,  sometimes  be- 
comes a  question  of  much  moment  to  the  peace  and  comfort  of 
a  Christian.  And  it  is  thought  that  the  record  here  made  may 
possibly,  at  some  future  da}T,  give  satisfaction  in  such  cases  as 
are  likely  to  happen  in  the  absence  of  Parish  Registers,  or  from 
inattention  to  make  proper  entries  in  them." 

Punctuality  was  one  of  those  secondary  virtues  which 
the  Bishop  liked  to  practise,  as  well  as  to  commend  to 
others.  We  find  the  following :  — 

"  MARCH  31,  1860.  In  consequence  of  being  interested  in 
conversation,  last  evening,  with  J.  B.  J.,  an  old  acquaintance,  I 
suffered  the  hour  of  5  P.M.  to  pass  without  notice ;  and  the  cars 
left  me.  This  is  the  first  occurrence  of  the  kind  that  has  happened 
to  me,  in  all  my  life,  —  a  proof  that  I  am  getting  old,  drawing 
nearer  to  the  '  Dream-land.'  ' 

On  another  occasion  his  love  of  punctuality  received 
a  very  rude  and  unexpected  check.  At  one  of  his  Con- 
ventions, he  had  given  notice  that  the  service  would 
commence  at  ten  o'clock  precisely.  An  old  Englishman 
was  at  the  organ,  and,  as  a  very  large  congregation  was 
expected,  had  prepared  one  of  his  longest  and  most 
artistic  voluntaries  to  be  played  while  the  congregation 


114  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

was  assembling.  He  was  playing  when  the  Bishop 
entered,  but  purposely  ignored  it.  On  rising  from  his 
knees  after  his  silent  prayer,  the  Bishop  motioned  to 
the  organ-gallery  to  stop  the  music.  The  old  gentleman 
was  apprised  of  the  Bishop's  order;  but  his  voluntary 
was  not  more  than  half  finished,  and  only  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  congregation  was  in  the  house.  The  Bishop, 
finding  his  admonition  pointedly  disregarded,  drew  him- 
self up  to  his  full  height  (with  a  vim  suggestive  of 
old- Adam  origin),  and  in  stentorian,  fortissimo  tones, 
that  rose  above  the  organ,  commanded,  "  Silence  !  stop  ! 
Stop  it  at  once,  I  say !  "  The  organist  wheeled  around 
upon  his  stool,  and.  pointing  his  long  finger  at  the 
Bishop,  with  his  shrill,  piping  voice  exclaimed, "  Bishop, 
when  you  are  preaching  one  of  your  long  sermons,  I 
never  tell  you,  '  Stop  ! ' "  and,  turning  round  again,  went 
on  doggedly  to  the  end  of  his  performance. 

This  provoking  and  yet  amusing  incident  was  related 
to  the  writer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Wheat,  who  witnessed  it;  and 
who  further  adds,  that  the  effect  upon  the  Bishop  was 
remarkable.  The  sternness  of  the  moment  soon  gave 
way  to  a  pathetic  tenderness  and  an  impressive  solem- 
nity, which  added  unusual  unction  and  power  to  his 
subsequent  discourse. 

A  somewhat  similar  event  once  tried  severely  the 
nerves  of  the  Bishop,  but  served  to  show  his  determina- 
tion to  do  his  duty  in  all  circumstances.  He  was  called 
to  unite  a  couple  in  matrimony  at  Brandon,  Miss.  The 
intended  groom  requested  that  the  word  "  obey  "  might 
be  omitted  from  the  plighted  troth  of  the  intended 
bride.  The  Bishop  replied  promptly,  that  he  had  no 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  115 

authority  to  dispense  with  a  single  word  of  the  Office 
prescribed  by  the. Church;  and  that,  in  his  opinion,  the 
wife's  obeying  her  husband  was  essential  to  the  happi- 
ness of  married  life,  and  that  he  would  certainly  require 
the  promise  to  be  made.  The  recalcitrant  lady,  though 
bent  on  carrying  her  point,  consented  to  take  her  place 
before  the  Bishop.  To  the  preliminary  question,  in 
which  was  the  word  "  obey"  and  "  serve"  also,  she  inad- 
vertently answered,  "  I  will."  But  when  she  had  to 
repeat  after  the  Bishop,  he  paused  before  "  obey,"  and 
pronounced  it  with  marked  distinctness.  She  was  silent. 
The  Bishop  repeated  it.  She  was  still  silent.  For  the 
third  time,  he  said,  "  and  obey"  He  then  paused  a  mo- 
ment, and  amid  a  death-like  silence  was  turning  away, 
when  the  conquered  lady  said  hurriedly,  "  obey,  if  I 
can"  The  proviso  was  accepted,  and  the  ceremony 
ended,  to  the  relief  of  all  concerned.  The  poor  apology 
was  made  for  her,  that  she  had  always  been  a  spoiled 
and  petted  child.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Th n,  a  worthy  Methodist  preacher ;  and  her  hus- 
band a  preacher  of  the  same  denomination. 

As  a  similar  story  has  been  credited  to  the  experience 
of  several  other  Bishops,  the  writer  of  this  Memoir  begs 
leave  to  state  that  he  was  personally  acquainted  with  all 
the  parties,  and  that  he  obtained  his  knowledge  of  the 
transaction  from  a  lady  who  accompanied  the  Bishop  to 
the  wedding. 

The  interesting  letters  of  the  Bishop's  daughters  will 
fully  suffice  to  show  what  he  was  within  the  sacred  pre- 
cincts of  his  household.  He  was,  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  the  wise,  the  tender,  the  playful,  and  the  instruc- 


116  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

tive  parent,  making  home  a  perpetual  sunlight  —  dark- 
ened only  by  his  long  and  frequent  absences. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  to  his  wife,  when 
he  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing  for  Europe,  will  show  the 
extent  of  his  thoughtfulness  and  loving  kindness  at  a 
moment  when  his  own  heart  was  weighed  down  with 
sickness  and  the  dreaded  perils  of  the  sea :  — 

" 1  have  made  such  preparations  for  my  voyage  as  seem  expedi- 
ent. I  send  home  my  old  trunk.  Within,  you  will  find  a  silk  dress 
for  yourself,  a  dress  for  Mary,  a  Sandford  and  Merton,  and  a  box 
of  titols  for  Mercer,  a  calico  dress  for  Peggy  and  Kitty  and  Becky, 
a  jacket  for  George  and  Edmund  and  Jack,  and  a  pair  of  pants  for 
Tom.  These  things  for  the  servants  are  at  }~our  disposal,  to  be 
given  or  withheld  according  as  they  show  themselves  deserving  by 
their  worthy  conduct.  ...  I  wish  you,  my  dear  wife,  to  keep 
Mercer  with  }*ourself,  and  teach  him  j'ourself,  as  much  as  }TOU  can. 
Let  him  read  the  Bible  to  you,  and  learn  the  multiplication-table." 

Another  proof  of  his  great  carefulness,  and  devotion 
to  the  welfare  and  safety  of  his  home,  may  be  seen  in 
this  simple  record  jotted  down  on  the  eve  of  one  of  his 
long  absences  :  — 

u  JAN.  11,  1847.  Left  home  this  morning,  for  the  visitation  of 
Mississippi.*  I  first  burned  out  all  my  chimneys  ;  and  commended 
my  dear  wife  and  children  to  God,  invoking  His  gracious  and  mer- 
ciful protection." 

We  have  seen  what  the  Bishop  was  in  his  family. 
Next  to  his  children  came  his  Clergy,  to  whom  he  was 
always  the  loving  Father  no  less  than  the  wise  and  able 
Bishop.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  affecting  rela- 
tions in  which  they  stood  to  each  other  may  clearly  be 
seen  by  the  letters  to  the  writer  from  the  Rev.  Drs. 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  117 

Gray,  Humes,  and  Harris,  to  be  found  in  the  Appen- 
dix. It  would  be  impossible  to  express  in  more  glowing 
terms  the  feeling  of  filial  and  reverential  affection  that 
inspired  those  voluntary  tributes  to  the  Bishop's  memory. 
When  gathered  in  Convocation  or  Convention,  Bishop, 
Priest,  Deacon,  —  ay,  and  laity  too,  —  formed  one  loving 
family  group  ;  and  seldom  did  his  Clergy  hear  the  voice 
of  rebuke  from  their  indulgent  Pastor.  But  when  a 
sense  of  duty  called  for  the  rod  of  discipline,  it  came 
with  telling  force  upon  the  offender;  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  letter :  — 

JULY  4, 4837. 

REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  indirect!}7  heard,  with  much  regret 
and  mortification,  that  you  have  lately  given  up  your  appointments 
to  a  Presbyterian  Clergyman,  on  two  occasions  when  it  was  your 
duty  to  hold  services  as  an  Episcopal  Minister  for  your  own  peo- 
ple. In  your  village  there  is  an  organized  congregation,  which  it 
ma}7  be  presumed  would  gladly  assemble  for  worship.  For  you, 
then,  to  permit  a  Presbyterian,  or  an}7  other  than  an  Episcopal 
Minister,  to  officiate  in  your  place  (at  a  Mission  Station) ,  virtually 
to  fill  your  appointment,  is  a  plain,  direct,  and  palpable  violation 
of  Canon  XXXVI.  of  General  Convention.  ...  If  you  teach  the 
people  one  thing,  and  I  another ;  if  I  find  myself  bound  by  Canon, 
and  you  only  so  far  as  expediency  shall  dictate,  —  it  is  very  evident 
that  we  cannot  walk  together.  ...  I  write  to  you  with  feelings  of 
frankness  and  candor,  such  as  I  hope  will  always  characterize  our 
intercourse  ;  and  with  no  other  than  the  kind  sentiments  which  I 
have  always  cherished  for  you.  Sincerely  desiring  that  you  may  be 
able  to  exonerate  yourself  from  all  blame  in  the  premises,  I  am 
very  respectfully, 

Your  faithful  Friend  and  Pastor, 

J.  H.  OTEY. 

Bishop  Otey's  experience  with  regard  to  his  Clergy 
was  not  unlike  that  of  his  other  Episcopal  brethren. 


118  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

Many  pages  of  his  diary  record  the  poverty  of  his  Dio- 
cese, the  unreasonable  expectations  of  the  smaller  con- 
gregations, and  the  repeated  and — as  he  often  thought 
—  the  needless  removals  of  his  Clergy  from  their  re- 
spective charges.  He  says,  — 

"  I  find  that  many  of  our  Ministers  seem  to  be  apprehensive 
of  being  overlooked  because  they  occupy  obscure  fields  of  labor. 
They  are  ambitious  of  getting  to  themselves  a  name  in  the  world. 
One  wants  a  more  enlarged  sphere  for  exerting  his  talents  ;  an- 
other desires  competition,  in  order  to  excite  him  to  effort,  and  to 
arouse  his  powers.  The}"  all  forget  that  an  humble  position  carries 
with  it  less  responsibilit}T,  and  generally  greater  opportunities  for 
real  usefulness.  And,  especiall}',  they  appear  not  to  consider  the 
example  of  our  Saviour,  who  neither  'cried  aloud,'  nor  'lifted  up 
his  voice  in  the  streets,'  but  '  went  about  doing  good.'  " 

In  another  place  he  writes :  — 

"  I  have  received  so  many  applications  from  Clergymen,  on  the 
subject  of  salary,  that  I  am  really  tired  of  replying  to  them.  The 
cry  is  always  one  and  the  same,  'What  support  can  be  obtained?' 
I  am  becoming  wear}'  and  disgusted  with  all  this.  If  any  man  is 
really  in  good  earnest,  and  heartily  desirous  of  honoring  God  and 
Christ,  and  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  he  will  ask  a  differ- 
ent set  of  questions  altogether.  He  will  say,  '  Jehovah  Jireh,  — 
Thou,  Lord,  hast  never  failed  them  that  put  their  trust  in  Thee.' ' 

Again,  with  regard  to  a  Clergyman  who  was  dissatis- 
fied with  his  position,  he  says,  — 

"I  have  perceived  for  some  time  that  Dr.  C y  is  dissat- 
isfied ;  and  he  now,  as  I  hear,  alleges  a  reason  for  it,  which  has 
always  struck  me  as  strange  when  coming  from  a  Minister  of  the 
Gospel ;  viz.,  that  he  has  not  competition  enough  to  excite  him  to 
effort.  I  think  the  Devil  is  a  sufficiently  formidable  opponent  for 
any  one." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  119 

In  palliation  of  this  weakness  on  the  part  of  the 
Bishop's  Clergy,  it  must  be  remembered  that  his  Dio- 
cese was  poor,  and  in  its  earlier  stages  very  poor.  At 
one  time  he  writes  to  a  Clergyman  wishing  to  come  into 
the  Diocese :  — 

4 'The  Parish  which  you  desire  to  obtain,  through  poverty  has 
failed  for  two  years  to  pay  the  assessments  laid  upon  it  by  the 
Convention  ;  and  its  last  Rector,  who  is  just  leaving  it,  departs  for 
want  of  salary.  It  is  the  largest  Parish  in  the  Diocese." 

Of  another  Clergyman  (Rev.  Mr.  Applegate),  he 
makes  this  short  but  expressive  note  :  "  Gone  back  to 
Scotland,  for  want  of  bread." 

Nor  was  the  good  Bishop  himself  a  stranger  to  these 
straitened  circumstances.  We  have  already  seen  that 
he  was  prevented  from  attending  the  Consecration  of 
a  brother  Bishop  in  a  neighboring  Diocese,  for  want 
of  means.  A  similar  entry  in  his  diary  is  :  — 

44  Four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  is  all  that  I  have  received  for  a 
whole  year,  and  I  am  told  that  there  is  only  fifteen  dollars  in  the 
treasury." 

Such  were  some  of  the  many  trials  of  this  dear  good 
man's  life.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  we  should  hear 
him  on  a  similar  occasion  say,  — 

"  Truly  the  office  of  a  Bishop  is  no  sinecure  in  this  country. 
How  little  do  those  know  of  the  privations  and  discomforts  we 
endure,  who  have  no  personal  experience  of  them  !  " 

If  the  question  were  asked,  as  to  the  character  of 
Bishop  Otey's  Churchmanship,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
answer  it  in  a  single  phrase  or  term.  His  early  ac- 
quaintance with  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  and  his  admiration 


120  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

of  that  great  man's  character,  had  imbued  him  with  a 
belief  in  the  Church  as  the  Representative  Body  of 
Christ :  One  in  its  Divine  organization,  Holy  in  charac- 
ter, Catholic  in  extent,  and  Apostolic  in  its  Ministry. 
He  was  fully  convinced  of  the  unbroken  succession  in 
our  Episcopate ;  he  looked  upon  schism  as  a  sin,  and 
both  inculcated  and  practised  a  rigid  conformity  to  Ru- 
brical and  Canonical  Order.  Nothing  more  than  this 
would  seem  necessary  to  place  him  in  the  category  of 
what  is  known  as  u  High  Churchmen."  On  the  other 
hand,  his  yet  earlier  youthful  associations  had  inclined 
him  to  look  with  equal  approval  upon  the  Church  and  the 
surrounding  denominations,  and  to  concede  to  all  claim- 
ants alike  the  right  to  minister  in  holy  things.  Between 
these  two  extremes  of  Church  thought,  his  true  posi- 
tion might  have  been  found.  He  was  consequently  the 
object  of  attack  by  the  zealots  of  both  parties,  but  more 
especially  of  the  latter.  His  unceremonious  ejection  of 
the  crosses  and  candlesticks  at  Riverside  ought  certainly 
to  exonerate  him  from  the  suspicion  of  being  a  High- 
Church  Ritualist ;  and  his  equally  ungracious  treatment 
of  certain  publications  of  the  "  Evangelical  Knowledge 
Society"  should  as  surely  acquit  him  of  favoring  the 
levelling  and  disintegrating  views  of  that  association. 

It  was  a  marked  characteristic  of  Bishop  Otey's  mind, 
that  he  could  look  away  from  party  influence  in  judging 
of  all  matters  affecting  in  any  way  the  nature  or  welfare 
of  the  Church.  In  an  early  stage  of  the  Confederate 
war,  it  was  contended  by  many,  that  the  separation  of 
the  South  politically  from  the  General  Government 
necessarily  involved  a  like  separation  in  matters  of  reli- 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  121 

gion  from  the  Church  of  which  the  South  had  been  a 
part.  We  find  his  views  on  this  then  exciting  subject, 
in  the  following,  taken  from  his  diary  :  — 

"  APRIL  9,  1862.  Had  a  long  conversation  with  Mr.  Smedes, 
concerning  the  effect  of  secession  on  the  organization  of  the  Church. 
He  thinks  that  our  ecclesiastical  organization  is,  of  necessity,  con- 
trolled by  our  nationality ;  that,  a  portion  of  the  States  having 
separated  from  the  Union,  the  Church  in  those  States  becomes 
necessarily  separated  from  the  Church  in  the  same,  and  is  forced 
to  make  a  new  organization.  I  dissented  totally  from  this  view  ; 
believing  the  Church  to  be,  in  its  spiritual  organization,  far  above 
all  civil  enactments  and  arrangements." 

Again,  Oct.  9,  1861,  in  a  letter  to  Rev.  George  C. 
Harris,  one  of  his  Clergy,  he  says, — 

"I  cannot  see,  for  myself,  any  urgent  necessity  for  adopting 
measures  to  bring  about  a  speedy  division  or  separation  of  the 
Church  into  Northern  and  Southern  sections.  .It  is  a  work  which, 
however  important  for  future  convenience,  requires  wise  and  pru- 
dent counsels  to  effect  it.  The  opinions  and  consent  of  our  North- 
ern brethren  should  be  consulted  in  any  such  step :  and  every 
thing  avoided,  as  far  as  possible,  likely  to  give  offence  to  any  por- 
tion of  the  Church  Catholic.  Already  the  journals  of  dissenting 
bodies  are  beginning  to  exult  at  the  prospect  of  a  disruption  of  our 
Church,  and  its  division  into  schismatical  fragments.  Every  thing 
looking  to  such  a  result,  I  am  very  anxious  to  prevent.  If  we 
must  divide,  let  the  separation  be  consummated  by  keeping  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace." 

The  following,  taken  from  a  letter  to  his  eldest  daugh- 
ter, is  so  marked  with  his  good  sense  and  sound  Church- 
manship  combined,  as  to  entitle  it  to  the  attention  of 
the  reader,  and  make  it  a  guide  to  those  who  may  find 
themselves  in  a  situation  similar  to  that  of  the  good  lady 
and  her  family. 


122  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

"  MY  DEAR  DAUGHTER, — I  wish  that  I  could  give  }TOU  advice 
that  would  relieve  your  mind  from  the  perplexities  you  feel  in  your 
destitution  of  Church  privileges,  and  which  might  guide  you  to 
right  conclusions  in  reference  to  the  religious  training  of  your 
children.  But  I  greatly  fear  that  I  can  do  neither.  The  very 
circumstances  by  which  you  are  surrounded  lead  naturally,  not  to 
say  necessarily,  to  a  liberalism  in  religious  matters,  in  the  public 
mind,  most  unfriendly  to  the  adoption  and  inculcation  of  Divine 
truth.  All  that  can  be  said  in  such  a  case  is :  Do  the  best  you 
can,  keeping  at  all  times  a  good  conscience.  This  liberalism  is, 
by  a  strange  misnomer,  called  charity  by  those  who  forget  that 
'  charity  rejoiceth  in  the  truth  ; '  while  the  opposite  is  stigmatized 
as  bigotr}*.  I  never  have  known  a  man  zealous  for  the  truth  of 
God,  whom  the  world  did  not  call  a  bigot.  ...  It  appears  to  me 
that  the  course  of  your  family,  under  present  circumstances,  is  a 
perfectly  plain  and  obvious  one.  Without  presuming  to  prescribe, 
I  will  briefly  sketch  an  outline.  If  I  were  in  Mr.  M.'s  place,  I 
would  read  the  Morning  Service  of  the  Church,  and  a  sermon, 
every  Sunday  forenoon,  or  direct  Hervey  [Mr.  M.'s  oldest  son]  to 
do  so.  It  would  be  dignified  and  unexceptionable,  and  insure  re- . 
spect,  as  the  manifestation  of  adherence  to  principle  by  a  man  in  a 
high  position  and  who  disregarded  public  prejudice.  It  would  be 
invaluable  to  your  children.  As  to  attending  meetings  of  others, 
it  would  be,  with  me,  a  matter  entirely  subsidiary  to  that  of  the 
learning  something  of  their  principles  and  practices.  As  to  your 
children  attending  Presbj'terian  or  other  Sunda}r  schools,  I  think 
that  your  instructing  them  every  Lord's  Day,  in  the  Catechism  of 
the  Church,  is  quite  sufficient  without  any  such  adjuvants.  Such 
are  my  views  in  brief:  I  have  not  either  time  or  space  to  expand 
them." 

The  friends  and  admirers  of  the  Bishop  are  unwilling 
to  consign  his  name  and  memory  to  the  exclusive  keep- 
ing of  any  one  party  in  the  Church.  If  the  question 
should  be  asked  by  any  who  shall  come  after,  be  this 
the  answer:  He  believed  the  Church  to  be  the  one, 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  123 

undivided  Bride  of  Christ,  with  no  element  of  division 
or  sectarianism  in  her ;  that  in  her  Creeds  she  holds  in 
its  integrity  the  Faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  ;  that 
she  has  a  Divine  Order,  connecting  her,  clear  back, 
with  the  Apostles  and  Christ ;  that  she  is  the  appointed 
teacher  and  preserver  of  all  true  religion  and  virtue  ; 
and,  finally,  that  to  our  portion  of  the  Church  the 
country  in  which  we  live  will  one  day  look  for  help 
amid  her  social  and  political  trials. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  one,  however  loudly  he  may 
claim  the  name  of  "Evangelical,"  ever  preached  a  purer 
Gospel,  or  held  up  Christ  more  plainly  before  the 
hearts  of  his  people  ;  no  one  was  ever  less  exclusive  in 
his  friendships  ;  and  no  one  ever  more  ready  or  more 
thankful  to  perceive  and  acknowledge  the  many  and 
evident  fruits  of  the  Spirit  among  the  Ministers  and 
members  of  the  various  denominations.  He  believed 
the  Church  to  possess  Divine  power  fully,  but  not  ex- 
clusively ;  and  that  every  thing  good  and  beautiful  and 
true  comes,  more  or  less,  of  God.  Eldad  and  Medad 
had  not  the  Divine  appointment  of  Moses,  but  the  Lord 
had  "  put  his  Spirit  upon  them." 

In  writing  to  one  of  his  favorite  Clergy,  August, 
1856,  and  speaking  of  the  two  parties,  High  and  Low, 
that  then  unhappily  divided  the  Church,  he  says,  — 

"I  belong  to  neither  of  them.  By  the  one  I  have  never  been 
forgiven  for  my  concern  or  part  in  the  presentation  of  Bishop 
B.  T.  Onderdonk :  by  the  other  I  am  held  in  a  sort  of  holy  horror 
for  opposing  the  E.  K.  Society.  Be  it  so.  I  can  not  and  will  not 
adopt  the  Shibboleth  of  any  party,  or  come  into  bondage  to  any 
man  or  any  body  of  men,  so  long  as  I  feel  and  know,  and  rejoice 
in  the  feeling  and  knowledge,  that  I  am  Christ's  Freedman." 


124  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

This  truly  Christian  spirit,  which  prompted  him  to 
look  with  many  grains  of  allowance  upon  the  various 
and  widely  differing  sects  of  the  Christian  world,  made 
him  sensitively  alive  to  the  feelings  of  others,  and  gave 
him  an  unusual  enjoyment  in  the  tender  and  the  beau- 
tiful, whether  in  nature  or  in  the  region  of  morals. 
On  no  occasion  in  his  whole  life  was  this  sympathetic 
spirit  more  fully  evinced  than  in  the  unhappy  fall  and 
condemnation  of  the  Rev.  F.  G.  S.  Though  shame- 
fully vilified  by  the  abettors  of  the  offender,  for  the  sen- 
tence pronounced  upon  him,  and  deserted  for  a  time  by 
a  number  of  his  friends,  he  seemed  chiefly  concerned 
for  the  sufferings  of  the  guilty  man  and  his  family ; 
saying,  — 

"  For  our  offending  brother  I  feel  no  other  sentiment  than  that 
of  heartfelt  pity  and  undissembled  compassion.  I  would  here, 
brethren,  bespeak  for  him  not  only  your  sympath3T,  but  A'our 
prayers,  that  he  may  recover  from  the  pit  into  which  he  has  fallen, 
—  that  he  may  be  forgiven  both  of  God  and  man,  and  regain  the 
position  of  confidence  which  he  once  occupied." 

Another  instance  of  this  abounding  tenderness  for 
the  feelings  of  others  might  have  been  seen  in  the  case 
of  one  of  his  Clergy,  who  certainly  deserved  it  as  little 
as  could  well  be  conceived.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Muller  was 
brought  to  trial  before  him,  for  general  untruthfulness 
and  specific  instances  of  lying.  The  Rev.  Drs.  Leacock 
and  Wheat  acted  as  coadjutors  to  the  Bishop.  The 
accused  was  found  guilty  of  lying  in  one  instance  only. 
To  the  astonishment  of  the  Court,  the  sentence  of 
degradation  from  the  Ministry  was  pronounced  upon 
him  by  the  Bishop.  The  reverend  coadjutors  were 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  125 

shocked  and  aggrieved,  and  seriously  but  respectfully 
remonstrated  against  what  they  deemed  the  unmerited 
seventy  of  the  sentence.  Their  feelings,  however,  were 
soon  changed,  when  informed  by  the  Bishop  that  the 
condemned  man  acknowledged  it  as  just,  inasmuch  as 
he  had  committed  a  far  more  heinous  offence,  and  had 
privately  confessed  it  to  the  Bishop,  expecting  to  be 
degraded.  Here  may  be  plainly  seen  a  beautiful  exhi- 
bition of  refined  feeling,  in  conjunction  with  a  strict 
regard  to  the  demands  of  justice.  The  culprit  receives 
his  merited  doom,  but  is  spared  the  additional  ignominy 
of  a  public  exposure  of  his  thorough  criminality  ;  the 
scandal  of  so  disgraceful  an  exhibition  as  a  public  trial 
is  warded  oif  from  the  Church,  and  the  moral  sense  of 
the  community  shielded  from  the  infliction  of  any  such 
unnecessary  outrage.  With  considerations  such  as  these, 
the  good  Bishop  secretly  comforted  himself  whilst  an 
uninformed  public  was  charging  him  with  playing  the 
tyrant. 

To  a  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  may  be 
added  an  appreciative  sense  of  the  beauties  of  nature. 
While  at  the  Red  Sulphur  Springs,  in  1852,  he  engaged 
one  day  in  his  favorite  amusement  of  fishing.  He  was 
not  successful ;  but  he  says,  — 

"I  did  not  regret  it;  for  it  enabled  me  to  be  alone,  and  to 
enjoy  the  sweet  breath  of  these  mountains,  by  the  side  of  a  brook 
whose  occasional  falls  send  forth  those  gentle  murmurs  that  recall 
the  pleasant  scenes  of  my  childhood.  How  often,  when  a  boy, 
have  I  listened  to  those  simple  sounds  of  Nature,  —  the  murmur 
of  running  water,  the  whisper  of  the  breeze,  the  hum  of  insects, 
the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  songs  of  birds,  —  and,  as  it  were,  talked 
responsively,  and  held  pleasant  converse  with  them  !  All  gone !  " 


126  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

Of  fishing  as  an  amusement,  the  Bishop  might  have 
been  said  to  be  passionately  fond.  He  could,  at  any 
time  of  the  leisure  he  allowed  himself,  sit  a  whole  day 
on  the  river's  bank,  under  an  August  sun,  if  the  fish 
were  at  all  disposed  to  bite.  At  one  time  he  says,  — 

"  This  is  the  only  amusement  for  which  I  feel  any  fondness. 
It  revives  very  vividly  the  recollections  of  my  childhood.  I  can 
remember  with  the  distinctness  and  freshness,  almost,  of  an  im- 
pression of  j'esterday,  many  little  incidents  of  piscatory  skill  and 
success,  which,  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  invested  the  actors 
with  the  importance  which  I  have  since  learned  to  attribute  to  the 
mighty  deeds  of  the  great  rulers  of  the  world,  or  the  warriors 
whose  exploits  have  filled  the  earth  with  their  fame." 

At  another  time  he  thus  writes  in  his  diary :  — 

"  I  can  undergo  an  amount  of  fatigue  in  this  occupation,  which 
in  other  pursuits  would  quite  break  me  down.  I  find  also,  that, 
independent  of  the  excitement  produced  by  the  constant  expecta- 
tion of  taking  the  prey,  the  very  business  itself  is  favorable  to  med- 
itation, and  revives  the  recollection  of  the  3'ears  in  which  existence 
itself  was  felt  to  be  good  and  joyous.  The  memory,  the  sweet 
but  mournful  memory  of  the  dead,  comes  up  at  those  times.  I 
seem  almost  to  hear  their  voices  whispering  to  me.  I  look  for 
their  loved  images ;  but  they  are  to  be  found  only  impressed  on 
the  mind's  e3~e,  and  the  tablets  of  the  heart.  Oh  that  I  may, 
through  Divine  grace,  be  enabled  so  to  live,  that,  when  this 
painful  life  is  ended,  I  may  rejoin  the  spirits  of  those  so  loved 
ones  in  a  state  holy  and  unchangeable!" 

We  have  seen  what  a  pleasant  companion  his  violin 
was  to  him  in  his  college  days,  and  how  carefully  he 
brought  it  with  him  across  the  mountains.  That  com- 
panionship was  kept  up  from  time  to  time,  in  after- 
years,  until  disease  had  made  the  "  grasshopper  to  be  a 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  121 

burden,"  and  the  "  evil  days  "  to  come,  and  the  years  to 
draw  nigh  in  which  he  would  take  no  pleasure  in  its 
tones.  The  Bishop  never  played  except  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  his  younger  children,  or  when  in  his  own  room 
with  a  chosen  friend  at  his  side  ;  or  when  solitary  and 
alone,  before  retiring  at  night,  he  sought  by  its  aid  to 
smooth  down  the  ruffled  remembrances  of  the  day. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  him  in  this  connection. 
Being  at  the  house  of  an  old  and  familiar  friend,  and 
having  his  violin  with  him,  he  thought  that  he  would 
hold  brief  communion  with  it  before  going  to  bed.  He 
had  scarcely  begun  to  play,  when  the  door  was  partly 
opened 5  and  the  head  of  a  faithful  old  servant  looked 
in,  saying,  "  Massa,  better  put  up  dat  fiddle :  dere's  a 
Preacher  in  de  house!" 

The  uniform  disposition  of  Bishop  Otey  was  of  a 
genial  and  cheerful  character.  He  was  at  all  times 
straightforward,  unaffected,  and  apparently  unconscious 
of  the  favorable  opinion  of  himself  that  he  was  exciting 
in  others.  He  neither  said  nor  did  any  thing  for  the 
mere  effect  of  the  moment.  When  he  rose  to  speak  in 
the  House  of  Bishops,  it  was  generally  after  several  on 
both  sides  had  delivered  themselves.  He  spoke  from 
his  seat,  studied  no  attitudes,  and,  oblivious  of  all  the 
rubrics  of  the  rhetorician,  would  sometimes  twist  one 
leg  around  the  other,  and  negligently  lean  upon  his 
chair  or  an  adjoining  table.  But  all  this  indifference  to 
mere  outward  effect,  if  noticed  at  all  by  others,  was 
forgotten  as  soon  as  he  began  to  speak.  For  soundness 
of  judgment  he  had  no  superior,  even  in  that  House 
where  many  were  his  seniors  in  both  age  and  experience. 


128  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

No  stronger  evidence  of  this  need  be  cited  than  the  fact 
that  when  in  1851  he  was  about  to  sail  for  Europe,  in 
the  expectation  of  attending  the  third  Jubilee  of  the 
"  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge," 
four  of  his  brother  Bishops  —  Whittingham  of  Mary- 
land, Chase  of  New  Hampshire,  Upfold  of  Indiana,  and 
Green  of  Mississippi  —  united  in  authorizing  him  to 
"  represent  them  in  any  Council,  Convocation,  or  Con- 
vention at  which  he  might  be  present,  and  to  declare 
their  minds  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare  or 
advancement  of  the  Church."  Other  Bishops,  and  doubt- 
less the  whole  number,  would  willingly  have  done  the 
same ;  but  these  four  only  were  within  reach  at  the 
hour  of  his  departure.  An  examination  of  the  Journals 
of  the  House  of  Bishops  from  1837  to  1859  will  convin- 
cingly show  him  to  have  been  a  member,  if  not  the 
chairman,  of  many  of  its  gravest  committees. 

Of  the  modesty  and  humility  of  Bishop  Otey,  a  strik- 
ing proof  has  already  been  given  in  his  willingness  to 
concede  to  Bishop  Polk  the  origination  of  the  University 
of  the  South,  rather  than  prolong  a  contention  on  so 
delicate  a  subject.  Another  of  like  character  may  be 
found  in  his  diary  during  his  visit  to  Chapel  Hill  in 
1857.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hawks  had  been  invited  to  deliver, 
at  their  Commencement,  a  discourse  on  the  "  Mecklen- 
burg Declaration  of  Independence ; "  and  the  Bishop 
was  to  preach  the  sermon  of  the  occasion.  In  his  notes 
he  speaks  in  very  high  terms  of  the  Doctor's  address, 
and  then  adds,  — 

"  I  was  highly  complimented  by  many  gentlemen  for  my  sermon 
last  night,  —  which  I  ought  to  regard  as  a  proof  that  it  was  not 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  129 

what  it  ought  to  have  been.  But,  oh  this  thing  called  praise  !  how 
it  spreads  over  one's  moral  feelings,  like  the  fragrance  of  sweet 
perfumes  over  the  senses  !  —  Lord,  let  me  remember  that  I  am  but 
dust,  and  less  than  a  worm  in  thy  sight !  " 

This  amiable  spirit  was  in  nothing  more  evident  and 
more  meritorious  than  in  his  repeated  attempts  to  make 
peace  between  parties  who  were  at  variance.  Notices 
of  this  kind  are  scattered  over  the  pages  of  his  diary :  — 

"  SEPT.  21,  1840.  Engaged,  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  in  ad- 
justing an  unhappy  difficulty  between  Mrs.  S.  and  Mrs.  B n  ; 

and  finally  succeeded." 

"  APRIL  29,  1844.  Waited  on  by  Mr.  C s,  who  asks  my 

offices  in  endeavoring  to  effect  a  reconciliation  with  his  wife.  Next 

day  I  see  Mrs.  C s,  who  utterly  abhors  her  husband,  and 

refuses  to  live  with  him  again." 

"  DEC.  21,  1848.  Received  letter  from  Mrs.  W n,  respect- 
ing the  difficulty  between  herself,  her  sister,  and  Rev.  Dr.  W 1. 

I  am  afraid  that  all  my  efforts  to  make  peace  here  will  prove  abor- 
tive. —  God  of  peace,  direct  and  help  me  !  " 

It  is  surprising  how  Bishop  Otey  managed  to  be  so 
uniformly  cheerful  under  such  cares  and  labors,  and  fre- 
quent attacks  of  disease,  as  he  was  called  to  endure. 
For  more  than  twenty  years,  with  occasional  intermis- 
sions, he  was  the  helpless  victim  of  dyspepsia,  in  one  or 
other  of  its  Protean  shapes.  To  this  were  added  sudden 
and  violent  attacks  of  lumbago,  which  would  apparently 
threaten  his  life.  Of  the  dyspepsia  he  says  at  one 
time,  — 

uThis  disease  disqualifies  me  for  the  performance  of  almost 
every  duty ;  insomuch  that  I  have  not  the  spirit  left  even  to 
engage  in  private  religious  duties,  such  as  reading  and  prayers. 


130  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

And  yet  my  heart  tells  me  that  I  do,  under  ordinarily  favorable 
circumstances,  enter  upon  these  duties  cheerfully,  and  often  with 
pleasure." 

It  is,  however,  gratifying  to  see  him  thus  bearing 
witness  to  his  own  naturally  cheerful  disposition.  After 
noticing  an  unhappy  state  of  melancholy  into  which  one 
of  his  Clergy  (Rev.  Dr.  P.)  had  fallen,  he  adds, — 

u  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  thus  beset ;  and  I  humbly  and  most 
devoutly  thank  my  Heavenly  Father,  that,  during  the  whole  of  my 
life,  I  have  been  generally  blessed  with  buoyancy  of  spirits,  so 
that,  under  ordinary  events  of  a  depressing  nature,  my  mind 
readily  re-acts,  and  I  soon  recover  my  usual  tone  of  cheerfulness." 

Superstition  has  been  said  to  be  one  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  great  minds.  It  was,  we  know,  a  prominent 
feature  in  that  of  the  great  Dr.  Johnson.  In  the  subject 
of  this  Memoir,  there  was  just  enough  of  it  to  break 
in  pleasantly  on  the  uniform  display  of  a  judgment 
seldom  at  fault.  But  the  superstition  of  the  Bishop 
did  not  amount  to  much  more  than  an  occasional  pre- 
sentiment of  evil,  —  the  effect,  no  doubt,  of  plethora 
or  indigestion.  March  4,  1852,  he  writes, — 

"  Do  coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before?  or  do  actual 
occurrences  at  a  distance  from  us  communicate  their  sadness  to 
our  souls  through  some  mysterious  and  undiscovered  spiritual 
intercourse  ?  I  feel  to-day  as  if  I  were  on  the  eve  of  hearing  some 
distressing  intelligence  ;  and  these  sad  forebodings  have,  in  times 
past,  been  but  too  mournfully  realized.  I  shall  hear  of  the  death 
of  some  member  of  my  family,  or  of  some  one  near  and  dear  to 
me,  or  of  some  heart-rending  catastrophe,  if  my  feelings  indicate 
the  future,  or  premonish  me  aright.  May  the  God  of  consolation 
and  grace  prepare  me  both  to  do  and  suffer  His  will !  Why  art 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  131 

thou  vexed,  O  my  soul?  and  why  art  thou  so  disquieted  within 
me?  Oh,  put  thy  trust  in  God;  for  I  will  yet  give  Him  thanks, 
who  is  the  help  of  my  countenance,  and  my  God." 

Again,  Oct.  26,  1857,  he  says, — 

"I  rose  this  morning  with  a  feeling  of  disquietude,  and  appre- 
hension of  approaching  trouble.  I  went  to  m}T  study,  and  endeav- 
ored, b}r  prayer,  to  gain  the  Divine  peace  and  protection,  and 
commit  myself  and  all  my  affairs  to  God's  disposal." 

The  Bishop  was  at  one  time  publicly  charged  with 
being  a  spiritualist,  or  at  least  a  firm  believer  in  the 
reality  of  their  pretended  revelations.  This  charge  he 
promptly  and  as  publicly  denied.  A  mind  of  such  grasp 
and  inquiry  as  his  would  naturally  desire  to  look  into  a 
subject  which  was  then  claiming  much  of  the  public 
attention.  Accordingly  he  says,  "  My  purpose  is  to 
investigate  this  matter  thoroughly,  with  a  view  to  learn 
the  truth."  With  this  purpose  he  attended  several  of 
their  seances,  or  exhibitions ;  acknowledged  afterwards 
that  he  witnessed  much  that  was  strange,  wonderful, 
and  amazing ;  but  concluded  at  last,  that,  if  their  ma- 
nipulations and  revelations  were  the  works  of  spirits, 
they  were  spirits  of  the  Evil  One. 

If  ever  a  father  loved  his  children  with  a  feeling 
bordering  on  excess,  that  father  was  Bishop  Otey.  It 
was  a  passionate  fondness,  restrained  and  regulated  only 
by  a  dominating  consciousness  of  his  duty  to  them  as 
immortal  beings  put  in  trust  with  him  by  God.  Stern- 
ness fled  from  his  brow  at  the  approach  of  any  one  of 
them.  His  leisure  hours  were  at  their  command.  Their 
joys  were  his  ;  and  their  griefs,  whether  of  hurt  or 


132  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

of  sickness,  were  doubly  his  own.  The  anniversaries  of 
their  births,  their  marriages,  and  their  deaths,  he  lov- 
ingly commemorated  as  often  as  the  rolling  year  brought 
them  into  view ;  and,  as  the  grave  closed  upon  one  after 
another,  it  seemed  to  tear  away  with  it  a  visible  portion 
of  his  own  life.  The  following  may  be  taken  in  proof 
and  illustration  of  this  feeling.  He  had  just  finished  a 
letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Crane,  who  had  recently  lost  two  of 
his  children,  when  he  adds, — 

"  It  is  a  grievous  affliction  ;  and  no  one  knows  the  bitterness  of 
the  cup  until  it  is  put  into  the  hand,  to  drink  of  it,  and  drain  it,  even 
as  I  have  done,  to  the  dregs.  If  there  were  nothing  else  to  show 
us  the  heinous  character  of  sin,  methinks  it  would  be  sufficiently 
discerned  in  the  bereavements  of  our  earthly  condition.  I  have 
heard  persons  speak  of  the  soothing  influences  of  time,  and  it  may 
indeed  dry  up  our  tears  so  that  they  flow  not  constantly ;  but, 
in  my  own  experience,  I  find  the  wound  rankling  in  the  heart  as 
sorely  as  ever,  —  my  love  growing  for  my  children,  with  the  flight 
of  years  and  months  and  days." 

No  just  estimate  of  the  character  of  Bishop  Otey  can 
be  formed  without  giving  great  prominence  to  that 
which  was  its  crowning  grace,  or  distinguishing  feature, 
viz.,  his  simple  and  childlike  faith  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
his  earnest  and  unpretending  piety.  He  was  undeniably 
and  eminently  a  man  of  a  devout  spirit,  as  well  as  of 
a  godly  life.  No  day  or  night  came  or  passed  away 
without  some  record  of  his  self-crimination,  some  prayer 
for  the  Divine  forgiveness,  or  some  acknowledgment  of 
undeserved  mercies.  The  first  day  of  each  year  began 
with  a  solemn  re-dedication  of  himself  to  the  service  of 
God ;  and  the  last  ended  with  a  prayer  that  his  many 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  133 

shortcomings  might  be  overlooked,  and  his  imperfect 
services  accepted,  for  Christ's  sake.  In  turning  over 
the  leaves  of  his  diary,  —  written  with  no  expectation 
that  it  would  thus  be  brought  to  light,  —  there  may  be 
seen  on  many  a  page  such  notices  as  the  following :  — 

"  MAY  4,  1857.  This  day  was  begun,  as  usual,  in  prayer  and 
thanksgiving.  I  felt  my  soul  drawn  out  towards  God ;  and  yet 
I  was  made  painfully  sensible  of  those  wandering  thoughts  and 
distractions  of  mind  about  earthly  things,  which  steal  upon  me 
unawares,  and  surprise  me  in  the  very  offering  of  my  devotions. 
Oh,  when  shall  I  be  so  freed  from  the  trammels  of  sense,  and  the 
entanglements  of  worldly  occupation,  as  to  realize  that  a  moment 
spent  in  uninterrupted  communion  with  God  is  worth  more  to  the 
soul  than  a  whole  lifetime  of  engagedness  with  the  world  !  " 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  a  private  journal 
of  the  Bishop  in  1860  :  — 

"  Shortly  after  the  Consecration  of  Bishop  Polk,  at  Cincinnati  in 
1838,  I  proposed  to  him  and  Bishops  Meade  and  Mcllvaine  that 
we  should  enter  into  a  covenant  or  agreement  to  pray  for  each 
other  ever}r  Sundaj7  morning.  I  have  endeavored  to  keep  this 
promise  faithfully,  and  have  never  failed  in  my  engagement,  I 
believe,  except  on  urgent  necessity.  It  has  often  been  to  me  a 
season  of  great  refreshment  and  spiritual  joy.' * 

To  this  succeeds  the  following  prayer :  — 

"  Almighty  and  Everlasting  God  !  mercifully  hear  and  graciously 
answer  the  prayers  which  Thy  servants  have  covenanted  to  offer 
for  each  other  at  this  time,  through  the  intercession  of  Thy  dear 
Son.  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  we  may  never  lose  sight  of  the  weighty 
responsibility  resting  upon  us.  May  we  ever  realize  a  deep  and 
abiding  sense  of  the  value  of  souls ;  and  may  we  never  relax  our 
exertions  to  win  them  to  Christ.  May  we  always  have  such  views 
of  the  dreadful  nature  and  danger  of  sin,  and  be  so  affected  with 


134:  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

the  love  of  Christ  in  (tying  for  sinners,  that  we  may  esteem  no  toil 
too  great,  no  hardship  too  severe,  in  warning  the  ungodly,  in  re- 
claiming the  erring,  and  in  seeking  the  lost,  that  they  may  be  saved 
through  Christ.  Be  with  us  in  all  our  journeyings  ;  protect  us  and 
ours  in  all  dangers ;  assist  us  in  all  our  difficulties ;  support  us 
under  all  our  trials ;  enlighten  our  understandings  with  heavenly 
wisdom  ;  and  establish  our  hearts  with  grace. 

"  Bless  us  in  our  labors  this  day  ;  and  grant  that  we  may  rejoice 
in  every  opportunity  of  spreading  abroad  the  truth  of  Thy  holy 
Gospel,  and  of  proclaiming  the  glad  tidings  of  reconciliation  with 
Thee.  Bless  Thy  Ministers  and  Thy  people  everywhere ;  and 
grant  that  Thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth,  Thy  saving  health 
among  all  nations.  Hear  us  in  these  our  prayers  ;  answer  us  as 
shall  be  most  expedient  for  us  ;  and  grant  us  all  needed  blessings, 
according  to  Thy  will,  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Saviour :  to  whom,  with 
Thee,  O  Father,  and  Thee,  O  Holy  Ghost,  be  glory  everlasting. 
Amen." 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  of  the  Bishop  to 
Rev.  Mr.  Humes,  Aug.  27,  1850,  will  serve  to  show  his 
views  on  the  important  and  much-debated  subject  of 
sanctification  :  — 

u  I  have  lately  had  in  mind  and  meditated  much  on  the  subject 
of  the  conversation  which  we  had  at  Knoxville.  I  was  expressing 
to  you.  as  you  will  remember,  my  apprehensions  of  falling  far  below 
that  measure  of  sanctification  which  seemed  to  be  requisite  for  the 
enjoyment  of  heaven.  I  was  thinking  about  sanctification  as  a 
result  to  be  attained  by  our  exertions,  — by  our  faithful  use  of  the 
means  of  grace,  b}'  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our  efforts  made  in 
faith,  and  upon  the  discipline  to  which  His  providence  subjects  us. 
You  remember,  too,  that  you  quoted  that  text,  that  *  Christ  is,  of 
God,  made  unto  us  wisdom  and  righteousness  and  sanctification 
and  redemption.'  It  is  a  glorious  text,  full  of  sweet  and  unspeak- 
able comfort.  It  takes  away  from  the  sinner  the  very  last  prop 
on  which  to  rest  a  hope  that  he  can  do  any  thing  for  himself.  The 
whole  work  was  put  on  Christ.  He  performed  the  whole  work ; 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  135 

and  right  it  is  that  all  the  glory,  honor,  and  praise  should  be  his. 
.  .  .  Now  I  am  resolved,  by  God's  grace,  to  strive  after  sanctifi- 
cation  in  soul,  body,  and  spirit,  as  if  the  whole  work  depended 
upon  myself.  And  if  the  Devil  tells  me,  in  contempt  of  my  efforts, 
to  look  at  the  worthlessness,  nay,  the  very  abomination  of  my 
work,  I  will,  the  Lord  being  my  helper,  just  turn  around,  and  ask 
him,  '  What  have  you  to  object  to  the  sanctification  which  Christ 
offers  me?  You  have  nothing  to  say  against  his  wisdom  and 
righteousness,  and  therefore  nothing  against  his  sanctification  and 
redemption.  Wherefore,  get  thee  behind  me,  Satan/  ' 

In  a  preceding  letter  to   the   same   Clergyman,  he 

says,  — 

"  That  whole  system  which  unhappily  led  Newman  and  Oakley 
and  Ward  and  others  astray  is,  as  you  intimate,  radically  wrong. 
It  '  gendereth  to  bondage,'  and  keeps  the  poor  conscience-stricken 
sinner  —  though  he  reads  that  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  right- 
eousness to  every  one  that  believeth — still  preposterously  striving, 
by  his  own  works,  to  establish  a  righteousness  of  his  own  which  he 
may  plead  for  justification.  And,  though  he  professes  that  this  is 
not  his  object,  yet  it  is  manifest  that  he  is  unhappy  and  uneasy 
unless  he  is  doing  something  from  which  he  expects  to  derive  peace 
and  hope.  Whereas  the  believer  who  takes  Christ  for  wisdom  and 
righteousness,  for  sanctification  and  redemption,  is  just  as  diligent 
in  prayer,  in  ordinances,  and  all  other  things  which  spring  from  a 
lively  faith  in  Christ,  as  the  other :  only  one  is  the  fruit  of  faith, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  other  he  is  praying  and  striving  and  strug- 
gling that  he  may  get  faith  and  hope,  and  so  he  is  kept  evermore 
in  slavery.  When  the  battle  comes,  never  fear  but  that  I  shall  be 
among  those  who  look  to  Christ  alone  for  victory,  and  have  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh." 

Again,  in  another  letter  to  the  same  Clergyman,  Feb. 
24,  1849,  he  writes  :  — 

"  When  your  welcome  letter  reached  me,  I  had  just  returned 
from  visiting  a  dear  lamb  of  Christ's  flock,  and  administering  to 


136  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

her  the  Hoi}'  Communion,  when  I  was  attacked  with  the  same  dis- 
ease which  has  hurried  her  away,  —  as  I  trust  and  believe,  to  a 
better  and  a  purer  world.  And  I  have  been  raised  up  !  No  doubt, 
for  some  wise  and  valuable  purpose,  —  I  know  not  what.  The 
Lord  grant  that  I  may  know  and  do  his  will !  I  sometimes,  and 
indeed  generally,  feel  so  entire  a  willingness  to  be  quit  of  earth 
and  earthly  things,  so  great  a  longing  after  a  sight  of  the  invisible 
things  of  the  world  to  come,  that  I  am  led  to  ask  myself  whether  I 
may  not  be  laboring  under  some  delusion,  —  whether  the  Devil  is 
not  sure  of  me,  and  is  therefore  blinding  my  eyes  to  any  just  per- 
ception of  my  danger.  May  not  such  a  thing,  think  you,  happen? 
But  then,  again,  I  say,  This  cannot  be,  surely ;  for  I  do  know  and 
feel  that  it  is  the  greatest  privilege  and  pleasure  on  earth  to  seek 
God's  face  in  prayer  and  praise.  And  when  I  most  feel  my 
unworthiness  and  vileness, — when  I  abhor  myself  most  deeply, 
on  account  of  my  corruptions  and  sins,  by  which  I  have  debased 
myself  even  to  hell,  and  realize  that  I  am  abominable  and  unclean 
beyond  any  power  of  expression  which  I  can  use,  —  even  then  I 
feel  that  the  power  of  Divine  grace  and  mercy  is  magnified  by 
saving  such  a  wretch  as  I  am,  and  by  cleansing  one  so  foul  and 
polluted.  I  feel  then  that  here  is  a  work  which  God  alone  can 
accomplish.  .  .  .  There  is  one  path  of  safety  for  us :  Trust  the 
whole  matter  to  the  Lord,  and  cast  all  our  care  upon  Him." 

In  yet  another  letter,  Dec.  1,  1848,  to  the  same 
Clergyman,  he  beautifully  writes :  — 

"  I  need  not  say  that  I  sympathize  with  you  deeply  in  the  trials 
and  spiritual  conflicts  which  you  have  endured  for  the  last  few 
years.  There  is  not  a  day  that  passes  in  which  I  do  not  think  of 
you,  and  bear  you  upon  my  heart,  while  laying  my  own  sorrows 
and  troubles  before  Him  c  who  is  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our 
infirmities/  But  my  poor  prayers,  offered  in  weakness,  avail  little 
to  my  own  benefit,  or  to  that  of  others.  I  ought  not  to,  and  do 
not  expect  to,  be  heard  for  an}'  righteousness  or  merit  of  my  own. 
Still,  as  a  member  —  and  the  meanest  and  most  worthless,  as  I 
sometimes  feel  myself  to  be  —  of  the  body  of  which  He  is  the 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  137 

living  Head,  I  do  believe  that  my  prayers  find  access  to  a  throne 
of  grace  and  mercy,  through  Him  who  is  our  all-prevailing  and 
powerful  Advocate  and  Intercessor.  And  though  we  still  go  on 
our  way  mourning,  and  in  heaviness,  that  is  no  reason  why  our  cries 
should  cease,  or  why  we  should  conclude  that  they  are  not  heard 
and  answered.  No  humble,  devout,  believing  prayer  was  ever  lost. 
If  we  will  not  receive  God's  Word,  let  us  be  taught  by  the  signs 
or  symbols  which  He  has  set  in  the  heavens  for  our  instruction. 
The  rainbow,  that  most  beautiful  object  in  creation,  the  symbol  of 
the  Divine  faithfulness,  is  associated  with  storm  and  tempest :  yet 
it  brings  tidings  of  the  coming  of  bright  and  clear  skies.  How 
lovely  it  appears,  after  the  strife  and  war  of  elements  have  passed  ! 
As  in  the  rainbow  the  rays  of  light  are  refracted  and  reflected,  so 
is  it  in  pra}~er,  and  in  all  of  our  seeking  after  God.  We  are  not 
answered  as  we  expected,  or  as  we  wished,  or  at  the  time  we 
desired.  Shall  we  therefore  doubt,  and  cease  to  pray,  as  though 
God's  ear  were  dull  of  hearing?  In  vain  shall  we  seek  for  the  ray 
of  light  in  a  direct  and  continuous  straight  line  :  it  is  found  in  all 
its  beauty  and  fulness  refracted  and  reflected  on  the  bosom  of  the 
dark-clouded  sky.  So  prayer  is  often  sent  up  direct  for  joy  and 
peace  and  comfort ;  but  it  is  refracted  into  thoughtfulness,  reflected 
thence  into  penitence  and  humility,  and  again  refracted  into  watch- 
fulness, and  trust  in  God.  Was  that  prayer  lost?  ...  I  was 
visiting  a  very  sick  person  not  long  since,  and,  on  approaching 
the  couch  of  suffering,  began  to  speak  in  the  usual  terms  of  con- 
dolence, thus:  4I  am  very  sorry  to  find  you  '  —  when,  suddenly 
checking  myself,  I  continued,  '  I  was  going  to  say,  sorry  to  find 
you  in  so  much  pain  and  distress ;  but  I  do  not  know  that  I  ought 
to  use  such  language  to  you,  or  any  one  ;  for  the  greatest  mercies 
and  richest  blessings  are  sometimes  concealed  under  the  chastise- 
ments with  which  our  Heavenly  Father  sees  fit  to  visit  us.'  Is  it 
not  even  so?  Does  not  the  Apostle  say,  '  Blessed  is  the  man  that 
endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried,'  etc.  ?  Does  not 
another  say,  '  Tribulation  worketh  patience,  and  patience  expe- 
rience, and  experience  hope,  and  hope  [the  bow  of  promise] 
maketh  not  ashamed,'  etc.?  .  .  .  The  truth  is,  that  I  am  so 
well  satisfied  that  affliction  does  work  spiritual-mindedness  in  the 


138  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

believer,  that  I  often  fear,  in  speaking  upon  this  subject,  lest 
I  appear  to  exceed  the  measure  of  God's  word ;  and  as  though  I 
would  teach  persons  to  desire  affliction  and  trouble.  But  I  do  not 
mean  this  (except  in  a  qualified  sense).  For  surely  the  pious 
heart  might  well  desire  that  affliction  might  be  sent  to  do  the  work 
of  grace  which  blessings  had  failed  to  effect.  The  mystery  of  the 
cross  is  best  learned  under  the  cross.  When  we  meet  in  Heaven, 
as  I  cannot  but  think  we  shall,  how  will  we  hold  '  high  discourse  ' 
on  all  these  things  ! ' ' 

"  FEB.  7,  1857.  Oh,  what  a  blessed  privilege  is  prayer  !  How 
my  soul  sometimes  yearns  to  be  freed  from  those  hindrances  of  an 
earthly  and  carnal  nature,  which  repress  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and 
restrain  the  uprising  of  the  soul !  Oh  that  the  power  of  sin  were 
effectually  and  thoroughly  subdued  within  me  ! ' ' 

"JAN.  15,  1854.  What  a  great  blessing  it  must  be  to  experi- 
ence that  love  and  trustfulness  in  prayer,  which  enables  us  to  say 
with  true  emotion,  '  Abba,  Father ! '  that  makes  one  cry  out  with 
David,  4  My  soul  is  athirst  for  God,  yea,  even  for  the  living  God.' 
But,  alas  !  how  few  are  willing  to  receive  the  chastening  necessary 
to  procure  such  a  condition  of  the  inner  spiritual  man  !  " 

That  this  outgoing  of  the  heart  towards  God  was  no 
transient  or  occasional  feeling,  but  an  abiding  and  con- 
trolling principle,  the  faithful  study  of  the  Bishop's  life 
will  plainly  attest.  According  to  his  own  account,  he 
was,  as  far  back  as  he  could  remember,  very  susceptible 
to  religious  impressions,  but  not  of  the  loving  and  invit- 
ing kind.  As  has  already  been  stated,  he  had  not  the 
advantage  of  an  early  religious  training.  His  parents, 
though  upright  and  moral  in  their  lives,  were  connected 
with  no  religious  denomination.  Hence  the  faith  of 
his  boyhood,  if  faith  it  might  be  called,  was  the  out- 
growth of  the  ignorance  and  misconceptions  of  the  truth 
by  which  he  was  surrounded.  He  very  early  imbibed  a 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  139 

fear  of  God,  but  was  taught  nothing  of  His  love  and 
mercy.  He  thought  that  he  heard  the  voice  of  angry 
God  in  the  thunder,  and  that  a  dark  corner  could  hide 
him  out  of  His  sight.  In  the  closing  years  of  his  life, 
his  mind  often  reverted  to  the  scenes  and  events  of  his 
childhood;  he  remembered  the  groundless  fears,  and 
the  mistaken  views  of  God  and  His  providence,  which 
tended  only  to  make  his  life  miserable  :  and  he  blessed 
the  Divine  Giver  as  he  contrasted  them  with  the  higher 
opportunities  and  the  brighter  light  vouchsafed  in  a 
later  day  to  him  and  his  children. 

One  evidence  of  the  constraining  power  of  this  his 
love  of  God  may  be  seen  in  his  conscientious  observance 
of  the  Lord's  Day,  and  his  inculcation  of  it  upon  others. 
From  the  very  nature  of  their  office,  those  who  minister 
in  holy  things  are  compelled  to  labor  on  the  Sabbath ; 
indeed,  that  is  their  chief  day  of  labor.  Hence  that 
saying,  universally  admitted  in  our  Saviour's  day,  "  The 
priests  in  the  temple  profane  the  Sabbath,  and  are 
blameless."  Though  fully  aware  of  this  privilege, 
Bishop  Otey  never  availed  of  it,  so  long  as  he  had  the 
means  of  conveying  himself  from  place  to  place ;  but 
when,  owing  to  the  increased  extent  of  his  jurisdiction, 
he  was  compelled  to  adopt  the  public  means  of  travel, 
he  often  found  himself  an  unwilling  violator  of  the 
Fourth  Commandment.  On  such  occasions,  whether  in 
a  steamboat,  at  a  village  hotel,  or  in  the  house  of  a 
friend,  he  was  ever  ready  and  desirous  to  officiate  ;  but 
he  knew  men  too  well  to  press  his  services  beyond  a 
distinct  intimation  of  his  willingness  to  do  so  if  desired. 
But  here  it  may  be  stated  that  very  seldom  was  he 


140  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

allowed  to  be  silent  at  such  times,  if  any  were  present 
that  had  previously  listened  to  his  instructive  and  con- 
vincing discourse. 

The  Bishop  had  been  conversing,  one  Saturday  even- 
ing, with  a  young  lady,  a  member  of  the  Church  of 
England,  who  was  on  the  eve  of  returning  to  her  loved 
country.  After  she  had  retired,  he  makes  this  signifi- 
cant entry  in  his  diary :  "  Ecce  qua  conveniunt !  She 
leaves  to-morrow!  Not  much  religion  in  that." 

At  another  time  he  was  travelling  in  company 
with  the  family  of  a  friend.  Saturday  evening  found 
them  twenty  miles  distant  from  their  destination.  The 
Bishop  remained  where  he  was,  and  found  an  opportu- 
nity to  preach  the  next  day ;  but  his  friend's  party  set 
out  early  on  Sunday  morning.  He  thus  moralizes  on 
the  subject  after  they  were  gone :  — 

"Thus  will  be  presented  to  the  sight  of  an  unbelieving  world 
the  spectacle  of  professed  Christians  wilfully  violating  the  Lord's 
Day  when  there  is  no  necessity  for  it." 

Another  instance  may  be  given.  On  removing  from 
Columbia  to  Memphis,  the  Bishop  rented  his  house  to 
a  Mr.  Martin.  A  few  days  after,  the  son  of  Mr.  Martin 
informed  the  Bishop  that  several  wagons  would  be  at 
his  house  on  the  following  Sunday  to  deposit  his  father's 
furniture. 

" 1  told  him  plainly  and  distinctly  [said  the  Bishop]  that  they 
could  not  be  received  at  my  house  on  Sunday.  To-day  he  repeated 
his  determination  to  bring  in  and  unload  the  wagons  to-morrow 
(Sunday).  When  I  told  him  that  it  should  not  and  must  not  be 
done,  he  very  pointedly  replied  that  it  was  none  of  my  business 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  141 

to  object  or  interfere,  that  he  would  compel  me  by  law,  and  that  I 
was  not  his  father's  friend  in  keeping  the  teams  at  an  expense, 
etc.,  etc.  To  all  which  I  replied,  c  Mr.  Martin,  you  SHALL  NOT 
unload  your  wagons  at  my  house  on  Sunday.' ' 

N.B.  —  The  wagons  came  on  Monday. 

The  following  incident  will  serve  to  show  how  fair 
and  open,  and  without  concealment,  was  the  habit  of 
his  life.  On  his  first  visit  to  the  Indian  Territory,  he 
was  sitting  in  the  porch  of  the  hotel  at  Fort  Smith, 
engaged  in  a  game  of  chess  with  one  of  the  officers.  In 
the  midst  of  the  game,  the  Rev.  Mr.  K y,  a  Presby- 
terian Minister,  was  seen  approaching.  His  companion 
proposed  to  the  Bishop  that  they  should  conceal  the 
board  by  covering  it  with  a  newspaper ;  but  the  Bishop 
quickly  replied,  "  No,  friend  B. :  whatever  God  sees,  I 
am  willing  that  any  man  shall  see." 

It  remains  now  to  speak  of  Bishop  Otey  as  a  writer 
and  preacher.  The  death-roll  of  the  last  twenty-three 
years  has  inscribed  on  it  a  large  portion  of  those  who 
were  once  his  delighted  hearers  or  his  favored  corre- 
spondents ;  but  there  yet  remain  many  who  can  bear 
witness  to  the  power  both  of  his  tongue  and  pen.  A 
perusal  of  any  one  of  the  subjoined  sermons  or  addresses 
can  hardly  fail  to  show  to  the  reader  that  the  general 
style  of  the  Bishop  was  of  a  clear,  strong,  fervid,  and 
scholar-like  character,  with  just  enough  of  ornament  to 
please  the  reader  without  distracting  his  attention.  His 
discourses,  as  to  their  nature  or  subject,  were  uniformly 
instructive,  practical,  and  exhaustive;  leaving  the  hearer 
something  to  take  home  with  him,  and  to  think  upon. 


142  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

In  his  delivery  he  was  earnest,  forcible,  and  impressive, 
with  no  attempt  at  display  or  mere  temporary  effect. 
He  dealt  but  seldom  in  the  pathetic,  though  often  him- 
self affected  to  tears  under  the  awful  solemnity  of  his 
subject.  He  could  touch  the  conscience  without  any 
undue  appeal  to  the  passions,  but  would  occasionally 
stir  up  an  emotional  hearer  to  an  unexpected  state  of 
excitement.  He  was  once  preaching  in  Franklin,  on 
the  danger  and  the  fatal  ending  of  a  sinful  course.  By 
way  of  illustration,  he  drew  the  picture  of  a  young  man 
leaving  a  home  where  he  had  been  religiously  trained, 
yielding  easily  to  temptation,  and  finally  lost  to  a  sense 
of  shame  and  sin.  He  was  showing  how,  step  by  step, 
the  unhappy  youth  had  been  led  in  the  path  of  the 
destroyer,  until  he  stood  on  the  crumbling  brink  of 
destruction ;  when  the  cry,  "My  God!  he'sgme!"  broke, 
with  a  startling  effect,  on  both  preacher  and  hearer.  It 
came  from  an  unsophisticated  youth  in  the  congregation, 
who,  with  open  eyes  and  ears  and  mouth,  had  so  closely 
followed  the  Bishop  as  to  be  oblivious  of  all  present 
surroundings.  Would  to  God  that  there  were  many 
more  such  preachers  and  hearers ! 

The  pulpit  may  with  truth  be  said  to  have  been  the 
home,  the  joy,  the  forte,  of  the  Bishop.  Without  any 
undue  self-esteem,  he  must  have  been  conscious  of  his 
power ;  for  he  could  not  but  read  it  in  the  uniform 
attention  and  admiration  of  all  who  heard  him.  It  was 
his  highest  enjoyment  to  preach.  No  part  of  his  Mas- 
ter's service  did  he  relish  so  well,  and  in  none  were  his 
people  more  proud  to  contemplate  him.  The  chief  sub- 
jects on  which  he  delighted  to  dwell  were  redemption 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  143 

through  Christ,  the  religious  education  of  the  young, 
and  the  duty  of  caring  for  the  negro.  If  his  sermons 
had  a  fault,  it  was  in  their  unusual  length,  —  generally 
one  hour,  not  unfrequently  an  hour  and  a  half,  and 
occasionally  two  hours.  Few  men  of  his  day  could  so 
long  have  held  in  attention  a  mixed  congregation.  His 
discourses  partook  of  the  character  of  his  mind,  —  a 
fulness  to  overflowing,  and  a  grasp  that  took  in  the 
whole  subject,  together  with  a  desire  to  impart  as  much 
to  his  hearers.  No  matter  what  his  theme  might  be, 
his  resources  seemed  to  be  inexhaustible.  In  this  re- 
spect he  might  have  been  likened  to  the  great  Dr. 
Barrow,  of  the  English  pulpit,  whom  King  James  ac- 
cused of  being  an  unfair  preacher,  —  unfair,  in  so  treat- 
ing his  subject  as  to  leave  nothing  for  any  one  to  say 
after  him.  But,  long  as  his  sermons  were,  he  was  often, 
after  their  delivery,  asked  for  copies  of  them,  or  for  the 
loan  of  them,  for  private  reading.  Frequent  requests 
were  made  by  his  Clergy  and  people,  that  certain  ser- 
mons of  his  might  be  repeated  a  second  and  even  a  third 
time.  The  writer  remembers  having  seen  it  noted  on 
the  back  of  one  of  his  manuscripts,  that  it  had  been 
preached  in  various  places,  from  Boston  to  New  Orleans, 
one  hundred  and  twenty  times. 

In  confirmation  of  what  has  been  stated  of  Bishop 
Otey  as  a  preacher,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  take  into  view 
the  following  extract  from  the  sermon  of  one  of  his 
Clergy,  the  Rev.  John  A.  Harrison,  preached  shortly 
after  the  death  of  the  Bishop :  — 

"  In  strength  of  mind,  vigor  of  intellect,  and  reach  and  grasp 
of  thought,  Bishop  Ote}'  had  no  superior  in  the  Church.  He  looked 


144  Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey. 

the  Bishop.  He  preached  as  indeed  a  '  Legate  of  the  skies.'  His 
majestic  person,  his  manly  countenance,  his  piercing  ej'e,  and  im- 
pressive manner  compelled  attention,  whether  he  stood  before  a 
State  Legislature,  or  a  Council  of  Indians ;  in  a  city  church,  or  in 
a  lowly  cottage ;  in  an  English  cathedral,  or  before  a  congregation 
of  negroes.  He  unfolded  and  illustrated  and  enforced  his  sacred 
theme  with  profound  ability,  and  in  language  at  once  the  most 
select,  the  most  appropriate,  and  the  most  forcible.  He  was 
mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  that  made  him  wise  to  win  souls. 
He  knew  nothing  among  his  people  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  cru- 
cified. The  doctrines  of  the  cross  were  the  sum-total  of  his  reli- 
gion, and  the  anchor  of  his  soul.  He  was  singularly  tender  in  his 
feelings,  as  gentle  as  a  woman  in  the  sick-chamber,  and  as  kind  as 
a  brother  to  the  poor.  Though  often  moved  to  tears  in  the  pulpit, 
he  was  yet  a  man  who  would  have  died  by  his  principles ;  and 
through  evil  report  and  good  report  he  did  maintain  them." 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  Bishop  so  posi- 
tively forbade  the  publication  of  his  manuscript  sermons. 
Those  to  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  together  with  a  few 
addresses,  are  such  as  went  to  press,  with  his  consent, 
at  various  times,  before  his  last  illness.  The  three  ser- 
mons on  the  Church,  when  they  first  appeared  in  1843, 
fell  like  a  bombshell  among  the  various  denominations 
of  the  South- West.  It  seemed  like  a  new  revelation 
to  them  all,  and  a  kind  of  declaration  of  war.  Each 
thought  itself  the  special  object  of  attack ;  and  all 
agreed  to  look  upon  the  Church,  thenceforth,  as  a 
"  common  enemy."  It  was  the  work  of  much  time  to 
allay  that  unhappy  feeling.  The  Bishop  deeply  regret- 
ted its  existence ;  but  solaced  himself  with  the  reflection, 
"It  is  truth,  and  I  must  tell  it :  it  is  the  Gospel,  and  I 
must  preach  it.  'Tis  safer  far,  in  this  case,  to  bear 
anger  from  men  than  a  woe  from  God." 


Memoir  of  Bishop   Otey.  145 

His  letters  of  condolence  were  numberless,  wisely 
adapted  to  each  case  of  suffering,  and  abounding  with 
all  the  consolation  that  mere  human  sympathy  could 
impart. 

Bishop  Otey  was  a  man  of  extensive  reading,  and, 
having  a  retentive  memory,  accumulated  a  large  amount 
of  sound  and  various  learning.  Indeed,  to  the  more 
intimate  of  his  friends  and  associates  it  was  a  matter  of 
wonder,  how,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  journeying  and 
preaching  and  teaching,  and  anxious  concern  for  his 
family  and  his  Diocese,  he  found  the  opportunity  to  lay 
up  such  a  store  of  profitable  knowledge.  He  was  deeply 
read  in  the  Word  of  God ;  and  that  seemed  to  throw  a 
light  on  all  other  subjects,  by  showing  that  they  were 
all  parts  of  one  great  whole,  with  glimpses  of  truth 
amid  the  mists  and  darkness  of  human  ignorance  and 
error. 

The  following  extracts,  taken  from  a  letter  of  Bishop 
Odenheimer  to  the  Kev.  Dr.  Craik,  will  show  very 
plainly  what  that  Bishop  thought  of  the  subject  of  this 
Memoir :  — 

"  In  all  that  adorns  the  meek,  loving,  Christ-like  disciple,  in  all 
that  gives  strength  and  dignity  to  a  ruler  in  the  Church,  in  all  that 
helps  to  sweeten  and  elevate  man's  intercourse  with  his  fellows, 
Bishop  Otey  shared  largely.  The  result  was  a  character  of  sin- 
gular beauty  and  attractiveness.  .  .  .  Intellectually,  he  maintained 
a  high  place  among  men  of  culture  ;  although  solidity  and  straight- 
forwardness, rather  than  brilliancy,  characterized  his  style  of 
thought  and  speech.  As  a  Divine,  he  was  well  read,  especially  in 
all  that  appertained  to  the  defence  of  the  faith  and  Church  of 
Christ.  '  Evangelical  Faith  and  Apostolic  Order '  was  emphatically 
his  motto,  and  in  his  practical  application  of  it  he  followed  strictly 


146  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

the  Apostolic  injunction  to  '  speak  the  truth  in  love.'  Never  did  a 
Christian  Bishop  work  more  unselfishly,  or  with  more  indomitable 
perseverance.  The  glory  of  God  in  Christ  was  the  well-spring  of 
his  noble  self-sacrifices,  of  his  persistent  zeal,  and  of  the  intense 
reality  that  characterized  him.  The  tone  of  his  mind  was  devo- 
tional. He  was  eminently  a  man  of  prayer,  and  yet  was  fond  of 
creating  and  enjoying  in  others  whatever  was  truly  human  and 
genial.  Few  Ministers,  of  any  order,  have  been  so  well  fitted  to 
influence  men,  and  few  have  been  so  successful." 

Similar  is  the  testimony  of  the  Eev.  and  excellent 
Dr.  Pise,  one  of  the  most  loved  and  esteemed  of  the 
Bishop's  clergy :  — 

"It  is  amazing  that  any  man  could  have  undergone,  for  any 
length  of  time,  such  exposures  as  his  journal  records,  such  ex- 
hausting labors  as  his  wide  field  of  duty  imposed.  But  he  lived 
to  see  the  fruit  of  his  spiritual  husbandry  in  the  erection  of  Louisi- 
ana, Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  and  Arkansas  into  Episcopal 
sees,  with  faithful  and  earnest  men  appointed  to  the  duties  of  the 
Episcopal  Office  in  each.  .  .  .  Under  difficulties  that  few  students 
of  theology  at  the  present  day  are  called  to  encounter,  he  acquired 
a  store  of  sound  theological  learning  which  any  one  might  covet. 
Of  him  it  might  be  truly  said,  He  was  mighty  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  few  could  apply  them  with  such  marvellous  skill  and  quickness. 
.  .  .  His  eloquence  was  that  telling  mastery  of  a  genuine  orator, 
which  works  its  way  straight  through  to  the  understanding  and 
the  heart ;  forcing  conviction  upon  the  one,  and  inciting  to  action 
the  other.  Profound  thought ;  varied  research  ;  argument  clear, 
cogent,  solid  ;  a  diction  often  elegant,  always  marked  with  strength 
and  dignit}7 ;  an  elocution  and  manner  peculiarly  his  own.  bold, 
earnest,  and  striking, — these  were  his  characteristics  as  a  preacher. 
Every  thought,  every  word,  every  movement,  was  but  the  inter- 
preter of  the  intense  reality  of  the  man." 

It  is  thought  by  many,  that  the  mental  character  of 
a  man  may  be  safely  inferred  from  that  of  his  hand- 


Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey.  147 

writing ;  but,  in  strictness,  no  criterion  could  be  more 
wide  of  the  mark.  In  the  case  of  the  subject  of  this 
present  sketch,  however,  there  was  a  marked  agreement 
between  the  two.  Every  manuscript  of  Bishop  Otey  — 
plain,  neat,  without  a  flourish,  and  legible  to  the  weak- 
est sight  —  seems  to  set  the  writer  before  the  reader  as 
the  very  soul  of  honesty  and  fair  dealing ;  an  open  book, 
to  be  read  of  all  men.  In  this  respect  he  bore  an 
unconscious  resemblance  to  the  man  he  most  admired, 
the  first  and  great  Bishop  of  North  Carolina;  whose 
chirography  was  without  fault,  and  who  one  day,  in  the 
streets  of  Philadelphia,  said  to  the  writer,  "  There  is 
not  a  thought  in  my  heart  which  I  would  be  afraid  to 
proclaim  from  yonder  steeple." 

It  is  surprising  that  one  who  wrote  with  such  uniform 
force  and  correctness  as  did  Bishop  Otey,  should  at  the 
same  time  have  written  so  rapidly.  Eepeated  instances 
occur  in  his  diary,  of  his  having  prepared  a  sermon,  a 
funeral  discourse,  or  a  public  address,  after  less  than 
a  twenty -four-hours'  notice.  And  this  he  could  do, 
apparently,  as  well  in  the  midst  of  his  journeying,  as  in 
his  quiet  study  with  his  well-stored  library  around  him. 
His  view  of  each  subject  was  so  clear,  and  his  thoughts 
so  well  ordered,  that  a  reader  of  his  manuscript  sermons 
might  turn  page  after  page,  without  finding  a  single 
addition,  erasure,  or  interlineation.  The  vessel  seemed 
to  be  always  full,  needing  only  the  decanting  hand. 

Thus  has  this  labor  of  love  come  to  an  end.  Thus 
has  the  writer  fulfilled  his  mournful  but  pleasing  task, — 
mournful  in  the  consciousness  that  he  has  been  writing 


148  Memoir  of  Bishop  Otey. 

of  one  whom  he  shall  never  see  again  in  the  flesh; 
pleasing  in  the  opportunity  afforded  of  recalling,  and 
setting  before  the  living,  an  example  of  true  piety 
and  zealous  labor  for  Christ,  which  all  must  admire,  and 
many  would  do  well  to  follow.  He  has,  in  all  fairness, 
endeavored  to  show  "the  man  as  he  was,"  — honest 
and  generous,  true  to  his  great  trust,  grand  in  intellect 
but  childlike  in  disposition,  tender  in  heart  but  fearless 
in  action,  just  to  all  men,  and  a  faithful  servant  of  God. 


APPENDIX. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  BISHOP'S  DIARY. 


THE  following  extracts  from  the  Bishop's  diary  can 
hardly  fail  to  interest  the  reader ;  as  they  will  serve  to 
let  him  into  the  inner  and  every-day  life  of  a  man  who 
took  heed  unto  his  ways,  and  loved  to  hold  communion 
with  himself.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  so  many 
of  the  little  volumes  which  made  up  his  diary  have 
been  lost.  Enough  remain,  however,  to  reveal  much  of 
the  singular  beauty  of  the  Bishop's  character,  and  the 
labors  which  he  performed. 

A.D.     1833. 

"  MARCH  16.  My  negro  woman  Charlotte  died  to-day,  after  a 
short  and  painful  illness.  Never  have  I  been  so  seriously  and 
powerfully  impressed  with  the  importance  of  faithfully  instructing 
our  domestics  on  the  subject  of  religion.  May  God,  of  His  great 
mercy,  forgive  my  past  neglect,  and  grant  me  grace  hereafter  to 
be  more  faithful  and  diligent.  I  now  see  that  I  did  not  do  half  the 
duty  of  a  Christian  master  to  my  poor  servant." 

"  JUNE  27.     Convention  met  in  Franklin,  at  the  Masonic  Hall." 

u  JUNE  29.     Proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  Bishop.     The  choice 

fell  upon  myself,  having  received  every  vote  except  those  of  Rev. 

Mr.  Weller  and  myself.     May  the  Lord  be  merciful  unto  me,  and 

strengthen  me.  —  Thou  knowest,  O  God,  that  I  feel  myself  un- 


152  Appendix. 

equal  to  the  burthen  of  this  high  and  holy  Office.  But,  through 
Thy  grace,  I  can  do  all  things  which  Thy  wisdom  may  appoint  for 
me." 

"  Nov.  16.  Rev.  L.  Polk  received  into  Canonical  connection 
with  the  Diocese.  May  the  merciful  Lord  make  him  an  instrument 
of  much  good." 

"Nov.  19.  On  Tuesday  night,  the  12th  inst.,  a  most  remark- 
able phenomenon  occurred  at  this  place.  A  few  hours  before  day, 
the  whole  heavens  were  lighted  up  by  thousands  of  the  most  brill- 
iant meteors.  They  generally  descended  perpendicularly,  leaving 
in  their  track  a  faintly  luminous  bar,  which  presently  vanished. 
They  were,  at  some  times,  so  numerous  as  to  appear  like  large 
flakes  of  falling  snow.  It  was  indeed  a  magnificent  spectacle. 
Many  persons  were  much  alarmed,  and  thought  that  the  Day  of 
Judgment  had  come.  Alas  for  the  folly  of  unbelief!  which  lives 
in  constant  dread  of  the  final  reckoning,  and  yet  rejects  the  mercy 
of  the  Gospel." 

1837. 

In  his  Address  to  his  Convention,  after  announcing 
the  death  of  Bishop  White,  he  says,  — 

"We  have  reason  for  devout  gratitude  to  God,  that  He  was 
pleased  to  continue  one  so  distinguished  for  prudence,  moderation, 
and  wisdom,  so  many  years,  to  labor  and  advise  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  Church.  May  the  mantle  of  his  unostentatious  piety,  mild 
and  gentle  temper,  and  Christian  simplicity,  rest  upon  those  whom 
he  has  left  to  take  up  and  carry  forward  the  work  which  his  heart 
was  always  willing  and  his  hands  ready  to  perform." 

"  It  has  been  my  practice,  in  visiting  the  congregations,  to 
assemble  as  many  of  the  Clergy  as  can  meet  together  with  conven- 
ience, and  try  the  effect  of  continued  religious  exercises  for  several 
days  together.  I  am  induced  to  think  that  this  course  has,  in 
some  instances,  been  attended  with  happy  effects.  Still  it  is  not 
by  any  means  to  be  relied  on  as  better  than  the  regular  and  sys- 
tematic inculcation  of  Divine  truth,  from  week  to  week,  in  the 
stated  ministrations  of  the  parochial  Clergy." 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  153 

"  During  Feb.  and  March  engaged  in  the  painful  duty  of  pre- 
siding at  the  trial  of  Bishop  Smith." 

1838. 

"JAN.  14.  After  preaching  both  forenoon  and  afternoon  in 
Nashville,  I  was  attacked  by  the  illness  which  interrupted  and 
cut  short  my  undertaken  visitation  of  the  Churches  in  the  South  ; 
and  which  disabled  me,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  winter  and 
spring,  from  the  performance  of  any  duty  involving  either  fatigue 
or  exposure.  I  wish  here  to  acknowledge  my  debt  of  gratitude  to 
the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Kemper  for  the  readiness  with  which  he 
complied  with  my  request,  to  take  my  place  in  visiting  our  distant 
brethren  in  the  South  and  West.  My  lack  of  service  was  thus 
supplied,  and  in  a  manner  which,  I  rejoice  to  learn,  was  most 
acceptable  to  the  people  he  visited." 

In  this  year  the  Bishop  paid  a  visit  to  the  congre- 
gations in  Florence  and  Tuscumbia,  in  Alabama.  On 
returning  from  this  visit  to  that  State,  he  says,  — 

"  From  the  indications  which  I  witnessed  of  interest  in  our  ser- 
vices, I  trust  the  day  is  not  distant  when  the  vine  which  has  been 
here  planted  in  faith,  and  carefully  nurtured,  by  our  modest  and 
unassuming  brother  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Cooke,  will  take  root 
downward,  and  bear  fruit  upward,  and  furnish  shade  under  which 
many  shall  seek,  and  find  refreshment  in  that  beautiful  region." 

1839. 

41  Nov.  21.  Heard  to-day  of  the  death  of  my  beloved  and 
honored  father.  O  gracious  and  merciful  God  !  grant  me  grace  to 
receive  and  improve  this  dispensation  of  Thy  wise  providence  in  a 
way  becoming  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Help  me  to  realize  my  own 
mortality,  and  may  I  be  quickened  in  the  pursuit  of  heavenly 
things.  Enable  me  to  be  truly  thankful  that  my  dear  parent  was 
supported  and  comforted  in  his  last  hours,  and  blessed  with  a 
peaceful  end.  I  pray  Thee,  O  Lord,  to  comfort  my  bereaved 
mother  with  a  sense  of  Thy  goodness  ;  and  prepare  her,  by  grace, 


154  Appendix. 

for  the  great  change  that  is  before  her.  And  wilt  Thou  also  look 
in  mercy  upon  all  my  brothers  and  sisters,  and  bring  them  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Thee  and  Thy  salvation.  I  ask  these  bless- 
ings in  the  name  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.  Amen." 

Although  much  of  the  Bishop's  diary  for  1839  is  lost, 
enough  of  it  remains  to  assure  us  that  within  that  year 
he  performed  two  full  visitations  of  his  Diocese,  on 
horseback. 

1840. 

"JAN.  4.  Committed  the  body  of  my  servant  Joe  to  the 
ground,  this  evening  at  sundown,  in  hope  of  a  resurrection  to 
the  life  eternal.  He  died  a  professed  believer/' 

"  FEB.  16.  My  daughter  Sarah  worse.  I  can  only  try  to  look 
up  to  a  gracious  God  for  her  restoration." 

"  FEB.  19.  Sarah  slowly  mending.  God  be  praised  that  his 
mercy  has  turned  our  sorrow  and  deep  pain  into  joyful  expectation 
of  hope  !  The  Lord  strengthen  and  confirm  our  hope." 

"  FEB.  21.     Sarah,  by  God's  blessing,  convalescent." 

"  APRIL  18.  Slept  but  little  last  night,  as  there  was  dancing 

on  board  the  boat.  Advised  Miss  M y,  a  member  of  the 

Church,  not  to  dance  ;  which  advice  she  does  not  take." 

"  JUNE  10.  Went  to  the  Institute,  and  heard  the  recitation  of 
my  class  on  Christian  Evidences,  and  Abercrombie  on  the  Moral 
Affections."  9 

1  'JULY  2.  Engaged  all  day  in  examining  pupils  at  the  Insti- 
tute." 

"  AUG.  16.  Visited  my  father's  grave.  Every  thing  reminds 
me  that  the  honored  head  of  this  family  is  gone.  Rev.  Mr.  Cobbs 
preached  the  funeral  sermon." 

"SEPT.  18.  Found  all  well  on  reaching  home;  for  which  I 
desire  to  render  my  heartfelt  thanks  to  God,  whom  I  wish  always 
to  acknowledge  as  the  Author  of  all  my  mercies." 

"  OCT.  13.  Gathered  several  curious  flowers,  on  the  way,  for 
wife." 

"  Nov.  3.     Went  to  town,  and  voted  the  Whig  ticket." 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  155 

"Nov.  8.  Read  much  about  the  Moravians.  What  self-denial 
exhibited  by  these  men  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  Christ !  Their 
zeal  and  piety  deserving  of  all  praise." 

"  Nov.  29.  Enjoyed  private  devotion  greatly,  this  morning. 
Felt  that  I  could  give  myself  and  all  that  I  have,  without  reserve, 
to  God." 

"  DEC.  12.  Been  all  day  long  visiting.  Weary,  weary 
world !  " 

1841. 

"JAN.  1.  Mercifully  preserved,  by  God's  goodness,  to  the 
beginning  of  another  year.  I  desire  to  commit  myself  and  all  that 
I  have  to  His  gracious  care  and  protection." 

In  compliance  with  repeated  invitations,  the  Bishop 
devoted  the  months  of  February  and  March  of  this 
year,  to  a  visitation  of  the  Churches  in  Florida. 

"JAN.  2.  Set  out  on  a  visitation  to  Florida,  through  Louisi- 
ana, Alabama,  and  Georgia." 

"JAN.  10.  Got  aboard  the  steamer  after  dark!  Mistaken 
civilities  and  kindnesses  cause  no  little  trouble  to  a  Bishop." 

"  JAN.  27.  On  this  day  I  am  forty-one  years  of  age.  Alas, 
how  little  advanced  in  grace  !  Gracious  God,  help  me  to  be  more 
devoted  to  Thy  service,  and  more  desirous  of  Thy  grace." 

"JAN.  29.     Rain,  rain,  rain." 

"  FEB.  6.  Rain,  ram,  RAIN.  I  have  scarcely  seen  the  sun  for 
the  last  four  weeks." 

"  SUNDAY,  7th.  More  rain!  What  a  comfortless  time  I  have 
had  since  I  left  home  !  Truly  the  Office  of  a  Bishop  is  no  sinecure 
in  this  country.  How  little  do  those  know  of  the  privations  and 
discomforts  we  endure,  who  have  no  personal  experience  of  them ! 
What  would  I  not  give  to  be  this  evening  seated  at  my  own  fire- 
side, with  my  children  around  me?  " 

"  FEB.  8.  Take  the  stage-coach  at  Montgomery.  After  going 
twenty-five  miles,  the  main  cross-tree  of  the  stage  broke,  and  we 
stopped  to  make  a  new  one  at  a  blacksmith's  shop.  I  helped  to 


156  Appendix. 

blow  the  bellows,  and  acted  as  striker,  for  the  smith.  It  was  now 
night,  dark  and  raining,  roads  getting  worse.  I  had  to  walk  at 
least  four  miles,  carrying  a  torch ;  for  it  was  with  great  difficulty 
that  the  horses  could  pull  the  empty  stage.  At  dawn  of  day, 
passed  the  spot  where  the  Indians,  four  3Tears  ago,  attacked  the 
stage,  killed  the  driver  and  passengers,  broke  up  the  stage,  and 
burnt  the  whole  together.  When  within  three  miles  of  Columbus, 
the  stage  was  upset,  and  came  down  heavily.  By  God's  mercy, 
no  one  was  seriously  injured.  My  right  knee  was  bruised,  and 
my  head  jarred  and  stunned  by  the  fall." 

"FEB.  16.  Heard  to-day  of  the  loss  of  the  steamer  'Lamp- 
lighter,' upon  which  I  was  about  to  take  passage  at  Mobile.  So 
it  seems  that  God,  in  His  mercy,  provides  for  us  better  than  we 
can  for  ourselves." 

On  his  arrival  in  Tallahassee,  he  says,  — 

"I  dined  with  Gov.  B.  and  family.  He  has  lately  lost  a 
daughter,  and  last  year  a  son.  These  bereavements  have  humbled 
him  much  ;  and  he  says  that  he  is  resolved,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
to  live  henceforth  in  the  service  of  his  Redeemer." 

"FEB.  23.  Preached  in  Tallahassee,  assisted  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Lee,  and  administered  the  Holy  Communion." 

"  MARCH  2.  Gov.  B.  came  to  the  vestry-room,  took  my  hand, 
and  with  tears  thanked  me,  saying  he  had  no  language  to  express 
his  feelings.  May  the  Lord  lead  and  direct  him  aright !  " 

Ever  since  leaving  home  the  Bishop  had  met  with 
little  else  than  rain,  rain,  rain.  On  setting  out  upon 
his  return,  he  says,  "  With  joy  I  left  the  soil  of  Florida, 
where  I  have  been  water-locked  for  three  weeks."  But 
he  immediately  adds,  "  Many  are  the  tokens  of  good- 
will I  have  received.  May  the  Lord  reward  those  who 
have  given  them ! "  He  here  refers  not  only  to  the 
kind  and  hospitable  attentions  of  the  people,  but  to 
the  liberality  with  which  they  contributed  to  the  object 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  157 

of  his  laborious  journey ;  viz.,  the  release  of  the  debt 
then  due  upon  the  Institute. 

"MAY  31.  Reached  Columbia  at  one  o'clock.  On  getting 
home,  find  all  well;  for  which  God  be  devoutly  thanked  and 
praised,  through  Christ  our  Lord  !  " 

"  SEPT.  12.  Set  out  for  the  General  Convention.  During  my 
absence  I  preached  and  delivered  addresses  in  Louisville,  Cincin- 
nati, and  Rochester;  in  seven  Churches  of  New  York,  two  in 
Boston,  three  in  Providence,  three  in  Philadelphia,  one  in  Peters- 
burg and  Lynchburg  ;  taking  collections  in  each  for  Female  Insti- 
tute." 

"  Nov.  11.  To-day  at  4  P.M.,  a  boat  appeared  in  sight,  with  a 
black  flag  at  the  bow,  and  a  gentleman  standing  on  the  deck  with 
crape  on  his  hat  and  arm.  It  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Atkinson  of 
Lynchburg,  conveying  the  body  of  good  old  Bishop  Moore  to 
Richmond.  He  died  this  morning,  full  of  years,  and  blessed  by 
thousands  whom  he  taught  the  way  of  salvation. " 

"  Nov.  30.  Reach  home  at  2  P.M.,  and  find  my  family  in  better 
health  than  I  anticipated.  Thus  has  the  Lord  brought  me  again 
in  peace  to  my  house.  His  mercy  and  goodness  never  fail.  O 
God,  my  Saviour,  I  desire  to  praise  and  thank  Thee  with  my 
whole  heart ! ' ' 

1842. 

"JAN.  19.  Find  that  Mrs.  G.  is  working  against  Rev.  Dr. 
Wheat,  spargeus  infamia  verba  inter  vulgus.  May  God  forgive  her 
iniquity  in  another  world,  and  expose  her  infamous  acts  in  this  ! " 

"FEB.  4.  Reached  Hernando  in  Mississippi.  Urge  Rev.  Mr. 
Matthews  to  get  us  off  early,  in  time  for  service.  We  get  off  late, 
and  find  nothing  read}r  when  we  reach  the  Church ;  the  house  filled 
with  smoke,  and  only  eight  or  ten  persons  present.  I  put  out  the 
fire,  and  threw  the  brands  out  of  the  door.  Every  thing  wrong ; 
and  Mr.  M.,  the  Minister  of  the  Parish,  instead  of  bestirring  him- 
self to  have  matters  done  decently  and  in  order,  sitting  down  and 
complaining  of  the  people  and  of  his  hard  and  miserable  lot." 

"  FEB.  13.     I  write  to  Mr.  M.  that  his  influence  at  Hernando 


158  Appendix. 

is  utterly  at  an  end,  and  that  I  had  advised  the  Domestic  Mis- 
sionary Committee  to  withdraw  their  appropriation  from  his 
Station." 

On  his  way  to  visit  Arkansas,  Feb.  19,  he  writes, — 

"  Dined  with  Mr.  G-.,  a  real  Yankee,  —  treats  me  to  boiled 
pork,  a  dish  of  beans,  and  a  glass  ,of  milk." 

During  the  Bishop's  visitation  of  Mississippi,  this 
year,  after  officiating  at  a  number  of  places,  he  reached 
the  residence  of  Dr.  William  Newton  Mercer,  twelve 
miles  below  Natchez.  The  doctor  was  a  man  of  great 
wealth,  owning  nearly  a  thousand  slaves,  and  was,  from 
first  to  last,  a  great  admirer  and  generous  friend  of  the 
Bishop.  He  had,  of  himself,  erected  on  his  principal 
estate  a  beautiful  Church  of  the  Grecian  order,  having 
a  tesselated  marble  floor,  and  a  good  deal  of  sculpture 
of  superior  order.  In  addition  to  this,  he  had  provided 
a  Rectory,  and  placed  in  it  a  faithful  Minister  (Rev.  Mr. 
Deacon),  who  was  to  baptize  the  children  of  his  slaves, 
and  train  them  in  obedience  to  Christ.  On  this  occa- 
sion, one  hundred  and  ten  children  and  eight  adults 
were  to  be  baptized ;  Dr.  Mercer  and  Miss  Eliza  Young, 
an  aged  female  relative,  being  their  sponsors  and  wit- 
nesses. The  Church  was  crammed,  and  even  dark- 
ened, with  the  ebony  faces  of  fathers  and  mothers  and 
sucklings.  The  Bishop  preached  one  of  his  excellent 
sermons ;  and  all  went  well  until  Mr.  Deacon,  after 
baptizing  nearly  forty  of  the  little  ones,  became  so  over- 
come with  laughter  that  the  Bishop  had  to  take  his 
place.  But  before  getting  through  with  the  remaining 
seventy-four,  he  himself  came  very  near  yielding  to  the 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  159 

same  temptation.  The  cause  of  this  was  the  unex- 
pected and  utterly  incongruous  names  of  the  little  dark- 
ies.1 The  Bishop  then  adds,  — 

44  Water  was  consecrated  three  times  before  the  service  was 
ended.  May  God  grant  His  blessing  on  this  work,  for  Jesus 
Christ's  sake.  After  all  the  service  was  over,  I  addressed  the 
adults,  in  the  most  serious  manner,  upon  their  duties  to  both  their 
earthly  and  heavenly  Masters.  They  appeared  deeply  impressed." 

44  MAY  26.  This  evening,  at  half-past  seven,  my  dear  Virginia 
was  united  in  holy  matrimony  to  Benjamin  B.  Minor,  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Polk,  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  Columbia,  in  the  presence 
of  my  own  family  and  many  other  witnesses.  May  God  graciously 
smile  upon  and  bless  this  union." 

44  MAY  30.  A  day  of  deep  sadness  to  us  all.  Our  dearest 
Virginia  left  us  this  morning,  for  her  distant  home  in  Richmond, 
Va.  May  Heaven's  peace  and  richest  blessings  go  with  thee,  my 
child !  She  has  passed  away  from  me  like  a  vision  of  light,  and 
my  heart  is  almost  broken." 

44  JUNE  5.  Am  to  leave  home  to-day,  for  Columbus,  Miss. 
Merciful  Lord,  protect  and  bless  all  whom  I  leave  behind." 

1844. 

44  JAN.  1.  This  is  the  commencement  of  a  new  year.  God 
grant  it  may  also  be  the  beginning  of  a  better  life  !  " 

44  JAN.  27.  To-day  I  am  forty-four  years  of  age.  Little  have 
I  done  for  the  service  of  Christ  in  this  world.  Lord,  help  me  to 
be  more  faithful  and  more  fruitful ! ' ' 

44  MARCH  1.  Received  a  check  of  one  thousand  dollars  from 
Dr.  Mercer,  as  an  expression  of  friendship  and  interest  in  my 

1  The  reader  will  readily  pardon  the  good  Bishop,  when  he  is  told  that 
among  the  names  were  the  following  (titles  and  all):  "Queen  Victoria," 
"Prince  Albert,"  "Lord  Wellington,"  "John  Quincy  Adams,"  "General 
Andrew  Jackson,"  "General  William  Henry  Harrison,"  "Daniel  Webster," 
"Henry  Clay,"  "Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,"  etc.  These  names 
had  been  suggested  to  the  parents  by  a  frolicsome  young  female  friend 
who  had  been  spending  some  time  with  Dr.  Mercer. 


160  Appendix. 

welfare.  May  a  gracious  God  enable  me  to  show  myself  not 
unworthy  of  so  marked  and  distinguished  a  favor,  and  make 
me  truly  thankful  to  Him  for  raising  for  me  such  a  friend  and 
benefactor." 

March  23,  after  a  long  and  toilsome  journey  by 
steamer  and  on  horseback,  the  Bishop  reaches  Fort 
Towson,  then  the  outermost  military  post  of  our  South- 
ern country.  On  his  arrival,  he  writes :  "Weary!  weary! 
weary ! " 

"MARCH  31.  Slept  in  TerrilPs  house  (an  Indian)  last  night 
—  the  hardest  floor  I  ever  lay  upon.  Went  next  day  upon  the  top 
of  a  neighboring  mountain,  and  again  dedicated  myself,  and  all  that 
I  have,  in  solemn  prayer  to  God.  This  is  the  anniversary  of  my 
wife's  birth.  Fervently  have  I  prayed  for  her/' 

"  APRIL  3.  Reached  Fort  Smith.  Kindly  received  by  Gen. 
Zachary  Taylor." 

"APRIL  5.  In  conjunction  with  the  Masons,  lay  the  corner- 
stone of  Trinity  Church,  Van  Buren." 

"  APRIL  13.  Rode  with  Dr.  Mercer  to  his  Ormond  plantation. 
Negroes  well  fed,  clothed,  and  lodged,  and  to  all  appearance  happy. 
They  shake  hands  with  their  master,  and  his  daughter,  Miss 
Anna." 

"  MAY  7  &  8.  Steamer  '  Franklin  ' ;  sleep  on  cabin-floor  —  or, 
rather,  lay  without  sleep." 

"JUNE  3.  I  accept  the  rectorship  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Columbia." 

"JULY  15.     Rev.  Mr.  S s  read  prayers.     Miserabiliter !  " 

"  JULY  27.  Anniversary  of  my  dear  Heber's  death.  God 
grant  that  I  may  so  live  as  to  join  him  in  a  purer  and  a  better 
world." 

"  AUG.  5.  Virginia's  birthday.  Many  happy  returns  of  it  to 
thee,  my  dear  child." 

"  (Steamer  'Muskingum')  SEPT.  23.  To-day  Bishop  Polk  and 
myself  had  a  long  talk  with  Sydney  Rigdon,  the  notorious  assist- 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  161 

ant  of  Joe  Smith  the  Mormon  prophet.  Rigdon  is  both  knave 
and  fool." 

4 '  (New  York,  House  of  Bishops)  OCT.  10.  Presented  my  Report 
as  Missionary  Bishop,  and  tendered  my  resignation." 

44  OCT.  19.  Pastoral  Letter  was  read  this  morning  in  House  of 
Bishops.  Eleven  Bishops,  including  myself,  object  to  some  of  its 
references." 

"Nov.  4.  Set  off  this  morning,  and  traversed  two  or  three 
streets  in  the  rain,  asking  contributions  to  the  Female  Institute, 
and  received  only  eighteen  dollars." 

44  Nov.  7.  To-day,  with  Bishops  Meade  and  Elliott,  made  a 
presentment  of  Bishop  Benjamin  T.  Onderdonk  for  trial.  May 
God  pardon  my  errors,  and  want  of  judgment,  if  I  have  erred, 
and  overrule  all  to  the  good  of  his  Church,  for  Christ's  sake." 

"Nov.  11.  Called  on  Rev.  Dr.  Se y.  Very  cold,  —  cold 

as  an  iceberg.  Who  cares  ! ' ' 

44  Nov.  17.  Went  to  Sully 's  this  morning,  and  sat  for  my 
portrait,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Mercer." 

4 'DEC.  31.  Last  day  of  a  year  full  of  mercies.  May  God 
make  me  truly  thankful." 

1846. 

44  OCT.  10.  Paul  left  us  to-day  for  Memphis.  God  be  gra- 
cious to  thee,  my  son,  bless,  preserve,  and  keep  thee !  " 

44  Nov.  24.  To-day,  my  beloved  daughter  Henrietta  was  united 
in  holy  matrimony  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Tomes.  May  God  bless 
this  union." 

On  their  departure,  a  few  days  after,  he  writes :  — 

44  God  Almighty  bless  and  keep  you,  my  beloved  children,  and 
at  last  crown  you  with  the  blessing  of  eternal  life." 

44  DEC.  31.  This  is  the  last  day  of  the  year,  —  a  year  distin- 
guished by  favors  and  mercies  from  God.  O  God,  my  God,  help 
me,  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  to  show  forth  my  gratitude  to  Thee, 
for  Thy  many  undeserved  blessings,  by  loving  Thee  more,  and 
serving  Thee  better  ! ' ' 


162  Appendix. 

1847. 

"  JAN.  1.  This  day  I  desire  to  dedicate  myself  and  all  I  have, 
unreservedly,  to  that  gracious  God  who  has  taken  care  of  me  all 
the  days  of  my  life.  O  God,  bless  and  keep  us  in  health  and 
safety,  and  make  us  Thy  children  by  grace  as  well  as  by  adoption, 
for  Christ's  sake." 

"  WEDNESDAY,  6th.  This  morning,  being  the  Epiphany,  I  bap- 
tised, at  family  prayers,  Hannah's  child  [a  negro  servant]  by  the 
name  of  John.  May  God  keep  him,  even  to  His  heavenly  king- 
dom.'* 

"  MONDAY,  llth.  Left  home  this  morning,  for  the  visitation  of 
the  Churches  in  Mississippi.  I  first  burnt  out  all  my  chimneys ; 
and  commended  my  dear  wife  and  children  to  God,  invoking  His 
gracious  and  merciful  protection." 

"  FRIDAY,  May  23.  Milii  atra  dies!  The  darkest  and  bitter- 
est day  of  my  life.  My  noble-minded,  generous-hearted,  and  be- 
loved child,  Sarah  McGavock,  departed  this  life  to-day  at  twelve 
o'clock.  O  God  !  Thou  hast  indeed  smitten  me  down  and  crushed 
me.  I  most  humbly  beseech  Thee,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  bring 
me  at  last  to  rejoin  her  happy  and,  as  I  trust,  her  glorified  spirit 
in  a  holier  and  purer  world." 

"  SATURDAY,  29th.  Weeping  has  '  endured  through  the  night,' 
but  no  joy  cometh  in  the  morning." 

"  SUNDAY,  30th.  How  gloomy  has  been  this  day  of  sacred  rest ! 
It  has  brought  no  rest  to  my  poor  sorrow-stricken  heart.  I  have 
staid  at  home  with  my  family,  and  endeavored,  by  reading  the 
Bible,  by  meditation  and  prayer,  to  calm  my  troubled  soul.  My 
heart  is  with  my  noble  and  gifted  Sarah." 

"FRIDAY,  June  4.  This  day,  a  week  ago,  my  beloved  Sarah 
died.  O  my  God,  how  it  pains  my  poor  heart  to  write  that  word 
died!  Oh,  that  I  could  have  died  for  her !  Merciful  and  gracious 
Father,  give  me  faith  to  believe  Thy  promises,  to  trust  Thy  word, 
and  be  resigned  to  Thy  holy  will." 

"SUNDAY,  June  6.  Preached  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  ad- 
ministered the  Holy  Communion.  In  the  afternoon,  went  to  the 
Institute,  and  addressed  the  children  for  an  hour  and  a  half  on  the 
subject  of  religion." 


Extracts  from  the  Bisl top's  Diary.  163 

The  next  day  we  hear  him,  like  David  over  his  be- 
loved Absalom,  mourning,  and  writing,  — 

44  My  heart  still  yearns  for  my  child,  my  beloved  Sarah.  O  God, 
give  me  resignation." 

44  SUNDAY,  13th.  Preached  in  St.  Peter's,  A.M.  In  afternoon, 
read  prayers  and  preached.  In  the  morning,  also  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  the  boys  of  my  school  on  the  subject  of  religion." 

44  FRIDAY,  25th.  Met  my  wife  and  children  at  dear  Sarah's 
grave ;  around  which  we  prayed  to  be  resigned  to  God's  will,  and 
that  we  may  all  meet  as  one  unbroken  family  in  heaven." 

44  MONDAY,  30th.  Left  Mr.  Buford's  this  morning,  and  rode  to 
4  Fancy  Farm,'  the  place  where  my  childhood,  the  happiest  period 
of  my  life,  was  spent.  I  went  up  to  the  house,  walked  around  it, 
and  into  the  garden  —  almost  every  thing  changed.  My  heart  was 
full  to  overflowing." 

44  SEPT.  24.  Have  been  emploj'ed  nearly  all  day  in  reading 

S y's  examination  of  the  Onderdonk  trial.  His  remarks  are 

a  tissue  of  falsehood  and  misrepresentation." 

On  Wednesday,  15th  of  June,  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese  was  held  in  Columbia. 

44  JUNE  18.  My  beloved  Presbyter,  Rev.  Philip  W.  Alston,  died 
last  night  at  ten  o'clock.  We,  the  Clergy  at  Convention,  knelt 
around  his  bed  in  prayer  in  his  last  hour,  and  commended  his  soul 
to  God." 

44  SEPT.  4.  At  Liberty,  Va.,  acting  under  the  authority  of  the 
Bishop  of  that  Diocese,  I  consecrated  a  Church  to  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God,  and  held  a  confirmation.  I  performed  these  ser- 
vices with  a  peculiar  gratification,  as  being  in  the  vicinity  where  I 
was  born,  and  where  passed  the  happy  years  of  my  childhood  and 
youth,  and  where,  in  those  early  days,  the  solemn  forms  of  our 
Liturgy  were  unknown." 

1848. 

44  JAN.  1.  The  beginning  of  a  new  year.  I  arose  early,  and 
endeavored,  in  the  best  way  I  could,  to  thank  God  for  all  His  past 


164  Appendix. 

mercies,  dedicating  myself  and  all  that  I  have  to  His  service,  and 
invoking  His  gracious  protection  on  me  and  mine." 

44  JAN.  14.  The  anniversary  of  my  consecration  fourteen  years 
ago.  O  God,  help  me  to  be  more  faithful,  that  I  may  be  more 
fruitful." 

"FEB.  7.  My  loving,  sprightly,  generous-souled  Fanny  lies 
shrouded,  a  pale  corpse.  We  have  prayed  for  resignation  to 
Heaven's  will." 

44  FEB.  8.  I  have  to-day  felt  all  the  bitterness  of  grief  in  real- 
izing that  my  precious  little  Fanny  is  gone.  O  God,  let  it  please 
Thee  to  calm  our  troubled  souls.  Employed  mj^self  as  diligently 
as  my  depressed  mind  would  permit,  in  the  composition  of  a 
sermon,  in  reading  God's  Word,  and  in  prayer." 

44  FEB.  11.  The  world  is  sad,  and  I  am  low  in  the  mire  of 
despondency.  But  God  sees  my  heart,  and  knows  that  I  do  not 
falter  in  my  purpose  to  love  and  serve  Him.  No,  not  for  a 
moment." 

44  MAY  23.  To-day  twelve  months  ago,  my  dear  Sarah  was 
taken  away  from  me.  May  the  Lord  grant  us  a  happy  re-union  in 
his  heavenly  kingdom." 

44  AUG.  30.  Employed  all  day  long  in  transcribing  a  sermon 
from  '  Plain  Sermons,'  which  I  design  to  use  next  Sunday,  for 
want  of  a  better  of  my  own  ;  a  thing  I  sometimes  do,  not  for 
vainglory,  but  from  a  desire  to  promote  edification." 

"  SUNDAY,  Dec.  10.  Attended  at  St.  Peter's  Church.  In  the 
afternoon  I  remained  at  home  to  instruct  my  grown  servants  by 
reading  the  Bible  and  prayer." 

44  SUNDAY,  Dec.  17.  Remained  at  home  in  the  afternoon  ;  had 
prayers,  and  read  one  of  Glennie's  sermons  to  Peggj7,  and  in- 
structed her  in  the  Creed." 

44  SUNDAY,  31st.  To-day,  after  prayers  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cressy,  I 
preached,  and  confirmed  five  persons,  and  made  them  an  Address. 
After  service  I  went  to  the  graves  of  my  beloved  children,  and 
there  tried  to  dedicate  myself  unreservedly  to  God  in  praj'er.  I 
prayed  that  these  afflictions  which  so  weighed  on  my  heart  might 
wean  me  and  mine  from  the  world,  and  make  us  as  a  family  meet 
for  the  enjoyment  of  His  heavenly  and  eternal  kingdom.  And 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  165 

thus  closes  a  year  memorable  to  me  for  its  afflictions  and  its  spirit- 
ual blessings." 

1849. 

"JAN.  1.  Mercifully  preserved  by  a  kind  Providence,  to  the 
beginning  of  a  new  year,  I  desire  to  acknowledge  this  favor, 
and  humbty  dedicate  myself  and  all  that  I  have  to  God's 
service." 

"  SUNDAY,  14th.  This  day,  fifteen  years  ago,  I  was  consecrated 
to  the  holy  Office  of  a  Bishop  in  the  Church  of  God.  Alas  !  how 
little  fruit  can  I  now  see  of  the  labors  of  those  years  !  Lord, 
my  God,  strengthen,  qualify,  and  enlighten  me  to  do  Thee  true  and 
laudable  service." 

11  TUESDAY,  March  6.  Anniversary  of  my  darling  Fanny's  death. 
Gracious  and  merciful  Father,  sanctify  this  event  to  my  soul's 
health,  and  give  me  humble  resignation  to  Thy  holy  will." 

4 'APRIL  9.  Spent  the  day  in  fishing;  caught  nine  fine  trout. 
John  Baird  fell  in  the'  river,  and  I  saved  him  from  drowning  by 
holding  out  my  fishing-rod  to  him." 

u  DEC.  31.  I  am  thus,  by  the  merciful  providence  of  God, 
brought  to  the  close  of  another  year,  —  a  year  that  has  been 
distinguished  by  many  blessings.  Although  the  cholera  has  visited 
many  parts  of  the  country,  and  we  have  been  more  or  less  exposed 
to  its  ravages,  by  the  favor  of  our  Heavenly  Father  not  one  of  those 
who  were  most  dear  to  me  have  been  affected  by  it.  We  have  also 
been  graciously  exempted  from  other  judgments  which  our  sins 
might  justly  have  drawn  upon  us.  For  these  so  great  favors,  and 
for  the  man}'  blessings  we  have  enjoyed,  I  desire  to  record  here 
my  sense  of  deep  and  lasting  obligation,  and  a  corresponding 
expression  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  our  Heavenly  Father." 

1851. 

Being  advised  by  friends  to  visit  Europe  for  his  health, 
the  Bishop  embarked,  April  12,  in  steamer  "  Water- 
loo." His  diary  is  long  and  minute,  and  written  for  his 
children  only. 


166  Appendix. 

"  (At  sea)  APRIL  18.  This  is  Good  Friday.  How  few  of  all 
this  ship's  company  seem  to  remember  the  tragical  interest  of  this 
day,  and  the  incalculable  blessings  secured  to  man  by  the  death  of 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ !  Head  good  old  Bishop  Hall's  sermon 
on  the  Passion." 

"APRIL  22.  Encountered  a  violent  storm.  It  required  skill, 
energy,  and  decision,  with  God's  blessing,  to  save  us.  There  was 
great  alarm  among  most  of  the  passengers,  and  some  thought  that 
all  was  lost.  God  interposed  for  our  safety.  To  Him  be  all  the 

praise." 

1852. 

"MARCH  13.  Dined  to-day  with  a  goodly  number  of  friends. 
The  meeting  was  in  many  respects  very  pleasant ;  except  that  it 
is  now  Lent,  and  I  feel  it  very  irksome  to  refuse  to  indulge  in  the 
good  things  which  the  kindness  and  civility  of  friends  provide  for 
our  entertainment."  v 

"  MARCH  29  [after  his  return  from  Europe].  Arrived  at  home 
about  12  A.M.,  and  found  all  well.  I  am  now,  after  an  absence  of 
more  than  twelve  months,  once  more  under  my  own  roof,  and  in 
restored  health.  How  much  cause  have  I  to  be  thankful !  Multi- 
plied have  been  the  favors  which  a  gracious  and  kind  God  hath 
bestowed  upon  me.  And  I  desire  to  feel  humbly  and  truly  thank- 
ful. -  But  it  is  not  in  man's  heart  to  feel  the  gratitude  which  his 
lips  would  fain  acknowledge.  It  is  God  alone  can  give  the  ability 
to  be  truly  thankful.  He  alone  can  awaken  the  song  of  praise, 
and  make  the  believer  feel  that  it  is  '  a  pleasant  and  joyful  thing  to 
be  thankful.'  Lord,  tune  my  heart  to  love  and  praise." 

"  Nov.  8.     Left  Columbia  after  living  there  seventeen  years." 

"  Nov.  12.  Reached  Memphis.  My  first  sermon  (Nov.  14) 
was  from  Rom.  xii.  1,  2  :  'Tendency  of  worldly  amusements.' ' 

"  DEC.  12.  Commenced  worship  in  '  High-tower  Hall,'  a  room 
rented  over  an  oyster-room,  and  having  a  dancing-academy  in  an 
adjoining  apartment.  The  hall  is  to  be  used  as  a  billiard-room 
during  the  week,  and  for  Divine  worship  on  Sunday.  I  have  come 
hither  to  work  ;  and,  if  the  opportunity  is  offered  me,  I  intend  to 
do  so,  sedulously  and  faithfully,  in  the  fear  of  God,  looking  to  Him 
for  a  blessing  on  my  labors.  The  associations  of  this  Hall  are  by 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  167 

no  means  desirable ;  but  it  seems  that  we  can  do  no  better,  and 
the  question  arises,  Shall  we  worship  in  the  '  House  of  Simmon,* 
or  not  at  all  ?  " 

"  DEC.  13.  Much  disturbed  about  Bishop  Doane's  trial,  but 
satisfied  with  the  result." 

1854. 

"  JAN.  1.  By  God's  gracious  goodness,  I  find  myself  alive  and 
in  good  bodily  health  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  year.  My  spirit 
has  been  greatly  bowed  down  during  the  week  just  past.  I  have 
been  sorely  tempted  to  indulge  in  an  evil  or  angry  temper ;  but 
not  without  cause,  as  Thou,  my  God,  knowest.  But  surely  I  have 
yielded  too  much  to  the  infirmity  of  my  nature.  I  have  felt  ashamed 
to  lift  up  my  hands  or  voice  to  God.  But,  thanks  to  His  Name,  I 
was  able  early  this  morning  to  prostrate  myself  in  body  and  soul 
before  Him ;  and,  in  the  name  of  our  most  holy  and  adorable 
Redeemer,  dedicate  myself  anew  to  His  Service.  Lord,  accept 
my  offering!  " 

"  JAN.  27.  Fifty-fourth  birthday.  I  have  passed  the  meridian 
of  life.  My  sun  has  culminated,  and  has  begun  to  descend  to  the 
land  of  shadows,  where  all  shall  be  enveloped  in  the  night  of  death. 
Merciful  Lord,  be  pleased  to  raise  me  from  the  death  of  sin,  to  the 
life  of  righteousness  ;  and  daily  renew  me  by  thy  Holy  Spirit." 

1861. 

"  JAN.  1.  The  beginning  of  a  new  }-ear.  Begun  in  prayer,  and 
in  renewed  and  humble  dedication  of  myself,  soul  and  body  and 
spirit,  to  God.  May  this  year  be  the  best  of  all  the  years  of  my 
life  ;  distinguished  by  faithful  diligence  in  His  service.  Lord,  pre- 
pare me  for  all  that  Thou  shalt  order  for  me.  Make  me  Thine, 
wholly  Thine  ;  and  that  will  satisfy  my  soul ! ' ' 

"  JAN.  15.  Heard  to-day  of  the  death  of  dear,  dear  Bishop 
Cobbs.  Gone  to  be  with  Christ." 

"  FEB.  6.  Learn  that  the  State  of  Virginia  has  gone  against 
secession,  or  precipitation." 

"FEB.  9.  In  company  with  Rev.  Dr.  Hines,  deposit  my  vote 
for  the  Union  candidates." 


168  Appendix. 

"  MARCH  5.  Read  an  abstract  of  President  Lincoln's  Inaugural 
in  to-day's  papers.  He  expresses  a  determination  to  enforce  the 
laws  of  the  Union.  An  attempt  to  do  this  will  probably  be  followed 
by  civil  war.  May  a  gracious  God  overrule  and  govern  all  for 
the  promotion  of  peace  !  " 

"  APRIL  5.  Wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Union  Society,  New 
York,  accepting  the  office  of  vice-president." 

"  APRIL  27.  Reports  from  every  direction  threaten  war,  and 
bring  accounts  of  preparations  for  the  coming  conflict.  Deus 
miser  eat ! ' ' 

"MAY  10.  Write  a  letter  to  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 
Read  it  to  my  friend  Robert  Brinkley,  who  approves  of  it  highly, 
and  asks  for  a  copy  to  be  sent  to  the  '  Journal  of  Commerce,'  New 
York." 

"MAY  23.  Send  forth  a  Pastoral  Letter  recommending  every 
Friday  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  during  the  continuance  of 
present  troubles." 

"MAY  28.  Anniversary  of  my  dearly  beloved  Sarah's  death. 
O  Lord,  heal  the  wounds  which  Thy  mercy  and  wisdom  and  love 
have  concurred  to  make." 

1862. 

During  a  considerable  portion  of  this  year,  Memphis, 
the  home  of  the  Bishop,  was  in  the  possession  of  the 
Federal  army.  He  gratefully  acknowledges  the  courtesy 
and  kindness  of  the  principal  officers,  and  particularly  of 
General  Sherman. 

"  MARCH  13.  Went  to  see  several  of  our  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers,  among  whom  I  found  two  Federal  soldiers.  Conversed 
and  read  and  prayed  with  them.  Walked  over  a  considerable  part 
of  the  city  to  purchase  oranges  for  them,  but  could  get  none." 

"  MARCH  13.  Heard  to-day  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Meade.  It 
was  a  painful  shock,  though  not  unexpected.  He  was  a  remarkable 
man  ;  and  few  of  his  day  have  exerted  a  greater  influence,  and  left 
a  stronger  impression  of  his  spirit  upon  his  generation.  Like  all 
men  of  great  powers,  he  made  warm  friends,  and  powerful  (I 


Extracts  from  the  Bishop's  Diary.  169 

should  be  sorry  to  say  enemies,  but  rather)  opponents.  He  was 
a  fearless  man  for  what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  —  frank, 
sincere,  and  sincerely  pious." 

"  DEC.  10.  After  breakfast,  walked  to  the  office  of  the  Provost- 
Marshal,  who  gave  me  a  permit  to  visit  the  Confederate  prisoners 
at  all  times.  Went  to  the  Irving  Block  prison,  and  found  one 
(Crisp)  very  ill,  too  much  so  for  me  to  converse  with  him ;  and 
another  (Russell)  with  a  sore  throat  and  great  hoarseness.  Begged 
officer  to  remove  Crisp  to  the  hospital." 

"  DEC.  12.  Visited  a  wounded  man  (Captain  Jones  of  Texas) 
at  the  Overton  Hospital,  and  gave  him  a  Prayer-Book.  Also 
visited  the  prisoners  at  the  Irving  Block,  and  was  glad  to  find  that 
Russell  had  obtained  medicine  for  his  throat  and  cough,  and  that 
Crisp  had  been  taken  to  the  hospital." 

The  last  entry  made  in  the  Bishop's  diary  is  the 
following :  — 

"  From  Dec.  21  to  this  date,  Jan.  3,  1863,  I  have  been  too 
sick  to  note  any  thing  in  my  diary.  I  desire  to  record  here  my 
sense  of  God's  goodness  to  me  during  the  past  year.  It  has  been 
a  year  of  unusual  sickness  and  suffering  with  me.  Yet,  amidst  all 
my  pains  and  trials,  God  has  graciously  supported  and  comforted 
me.  He  has  protected  me  in  my  many  journeyings.  He  has 
given  me  grace  and  favor  in  the  ey es  of  the  invaders  of  my  country, 
and  enabled  me  to  be  of  some  service  to  my  fellow-men.  For 
these  and  a  thousand  other  favors,  I  desire  to  bless  and  praise  His 
holy  name  for  ever  and  ever." 

"As  time  departs,  salvation  comes; 

Each  moment  brings  it  near; 
Then,  welcome  each  declining  day, 
Welcome  each  closing  year. 

Not  many  years  their  course  shall  run, 

Not  many  mornings  rise, 
Ere  all  its  glories  stand  revealed 

To  our  transported  eyes." 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS. 


EXTRACTS  from  a  letter  of  Mrs.  Henrietta  C.  Tomes, 
daughter  of  Bishop  Otey ;  addressed  to  the  writer. 

MY  DEAR  BISHOP  GREEN,  —  The  earliest  recollection  I  have  of 
my  dear  father  is  associated  with  his  frequent  returns  home  after 
his  many  long,  fatiguing,  and  perilous  visitations  to  the  South  and 
West.  He  was  then  Missionary  and  Provisional  Bishop  of  Arkan- 
sas, Mississippi,  part  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  and  the  Indian 
Territory,  besides  having  the  care  of  his  own  Diocese.  All  these 
combined  kept  him  from  home  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 
During  the  short  period  he  was  with  us,  it  was  his  delight  to  in- 
struct and  amuse  his  young  children,  who  singly  (or  sometimes  the 
three  youngest  at  once)  would  mount  his  knee,  by  our  winter  fire- 
side, while  he  would  sing  quaint  old  songs,  some  of  them  wild  and 
weird  in  sound,  startling  us  with  the  strange  words,  causing  us  to 
gaze  at  him  with  a  feeling  of  awe  and  reverential  curiosity.  One 
song  was  especially  deprecated  by  his  youngest  daughter,  little 
Fanny,  whose  tender  years,  united  to  a  frank  and  affectionate  dis- 
position, made  her  the  darling  of  the  household.  She  would  turn 
hastily  around,  and  give  "papa"  a  hearty  slap  on  the  lips  with 
her  rosy  little  palm,  a  feat  that  he  generally  courted,  and  at  which 
he  was  alwa}Ts  much  amused. 

Pie  was  a  most  tender  and  loving  father ;  and  in  his  painful  and 
protracted  journeyings,  although  he  grudged  not  the  time  and  ser- 
vice devoted  to  the  Lord,  would  often  revert  to  these  quiet  domes- 


Extracts  from  Letters.  171 

tic  scenes.  In  one  of  his  earlier  diaries  I  find  such  words  as  these  : 
"  Here  am  I,  on  the  placid  bosom  of  the  Mississippi,  every  moment 
receding  farther  and  farther  from  those  whom  I  tenderly  love.  .  .  . 
How  I  would  enjoy  these  scenes  if  I  only  had  my  wife  and  children 
with  me,  to  expatiate  in  the  pleasures  which  are  almost  tasteless 
without  their  presence  !  " 

My  dear  father,  like  many  persons  of  deep  and  tender  feelings, 
was  reserved  in  the  expression  of  them,  even  in  his  own  family. 
He  did  not  often  (except  to  the  little  ones)  display  his  affection 
by  caresses  and  words ;  but  when  he  did  endeavor  to  reveal  his 
strong,  deep,  and  tender  affection,  it  was  like  the  "  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  broken  up,"  and  tears  would  choke  his  utterance.  .  .  . 

This  little  girl  Fanny,  whose  bright,  caressing  nature,  unchecked 
by  the  apparently  grave  aspect  of  my  father,  seemed  to  have  twined 
herself  around  the  very  fibres  of  his  heart.  Often  have  I  seen  them 
together  at  twilight,  her  stature  just  reaching  above  his  knee, 
walk  up  and  down  the  long  hall,  and  sing  psalms  and  hymns  to- 
gether ;  or  he  would  hear  her  repeat  her  little  verses,  learned  to 
recite  at  school.  .  .  .  My  father  had  a  fine  voice  ;  and  the  soft, 
ringing,  childish  notes  of  little  Fanny,  mingled  in  unison  with  his 
own,  was  one  of  the  sweetest  sounds  I  have  ever  heard.  Happy 
father  and  child,  to  be  now  united  again  forever ! 

He  enjoyed,  too,  the  society  of  his  elder  children,  —  one  son 
and  two  daughters  married,  and  Sarah,  a  blooming  girl  of  sixteen 
summers,  the  pride  of  his  heart.  With  what  gladness  he  interested 
himself  in  her  studies,  and  shared  her  }routhful  aspirations,  lighten- 
ing her  labors  by  his  superior  knowledge  and  intelligence !  He 
would  accompany  her  in  her  songs  on  the  harp,  in  the  balmy  sum- 
mer evenings,  in  the  vine-covered  porch  of  our  beloved  home  ;  and 
I  can  recall  his  figure  well,  as,  leaning  back  in  his  chair  after  the 
songs  were  ended,  he  would  delight  to  talk,  and  speculate  on  the 
wonders  and  beauty  of  the  shining  stars  sparkling  above,  and 
patiently  reply  to  the  innumerable  questions  that  wondering 
childhood  asks. 

His  earnest  manner  in  speaking  often  made  him  appear  stern, 
but  I  can  never  remember  his  speaking  harshly  to  us  in  all  his  life. 
On  the  contrary,  whenever  any  disagreeable  duty  had  to  be  per- 


172  Appendix. 

formed,  his  persuasive  voice  and  manner  made  us  feel  proud  to  do 
it  for  "  pa's  sake  :  "  that  plea  carried  the  day  always.  When  he 
had  occasion  to  use  sterner  measures,  a  single  look  of  his  deep, 
dark  eye  was  enough  to  convince  the  boldest  of  us  that  he  was  in 
earnest.  .  .  . 

If  there  were  illness  in  the  family,  no  father  could  be  more 
patient,  tender,  and  unwearying.  It  was  not  his  privilege  to  sit  by 
the  couch  of  his  beloved  Sarah :  he  arrived  only  a  few  moments 
before  she  breathed  her  last,  —  she  with  whom  he  had  parted 
glowing  with  life,  ardor,  and  beauty,  now  stretched  pale  and  dying 
before  him,  —  and  only  in  time  to  catch  the  last  fond,  expiring 
glance  of  her  eye,  and  hear  her,  in  that  last  lucid  interval,  gasp 
out  "  Dear  pa,"  while  feebly  feeling  for  his  hand.  The  agony  of 
that  moment  never  passed  from  his  mind,  at  home  or  abroad.  .  .  . 

In  the  last  years  of  his  life,  he  often  spoke  of  his  youth,  —  the 
scenes  around  his  birth-place  and  old  home  ;  and  would  dwell  with 
affectionate  enthusiasm  on  his  native  mountains,  especially  the 
Peaks  of  Otter,  a  picture  of  which  he  always  kept  on  the  mantel 
of  his  library.  He  spoke  of  his  keen  susceptibility  to  religious 
impressions  in  those  days,  and  "  would  have  given  any  thing,"  he 
would  often  say,  "to  have  had  the  advantages  of  careful,  judi- 
cious training,  and  to  have  had  the  love  of  God  held  forth  to  him, 
instead  of  the  fear  of  a  great  and  terrible  Jehovah."  That  feeling, 
combined  with  the  natural  fears  inherent  in  some  children,  made 
the  approach  of  a  thunder-storm  terrible  to  him.  It  was  literally, 
to  his  sensitive  and  impressive  organization,  "  the  voice  of  God  in 
the  thunder."  .  .  .  His  favorite  sport  was  fishing  in  the  blue 
mountain-streams  around  his  home;  and  "  happy  and  proud  was 
I,"  he  would  say,  "after  fishing  all  day  in  the  Big  Otter,  with 
some  favorite  book  by  me,  to  come  home  laden  with  a  string  of 
fine  mountain- trout. "  .  .  . 

The  religious  education  of  youth  was  always  a  subject  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  my  father,  and  during  the  whole  of  his  ministry 
he  endeavored  to  awake  and  keep  alive  an  interest  in  establishing 
male  and  female  schools.  Tennessee,  when  he  first  came,  was  the 
home  of  the  pioneer;  and  the  rough  and  hardy  backwoodsmen 
looked  with  contempt  upon  learning  and  refinement,  especially  as 


Extracts  from  Letters.  17f3 

connected  with  the  Ministry  of  the  Gospel.  The  services  of  the 
Church  were  something  so  strange  to  them,  that  I  have  often  heard 
my  father  illustrate  it  by  telling  of  the  homely  remark  of  some 
rude  son  of  the  wilderness:  "Come,  let's  go  and  hear  that  man 
preach,  and  his  wife  jaw  back  at  him  ;  "  alluding  to  the  responses 
made  by  my  mother,  who  was  often  the  only  person  who  could 
take  part  in  our  services.  But  these  drawbacks,  as  we  well  know, 
could  not  deter  my  dear  father.  He  taught  during  the  week  ;  and 
on  Sunday  preached,  more  than  once  after  riding  over  rough  roads 
through  all  kinds  of  weather.  These  labors  told  severely  on  his 
health.  Horseback-riding  was  the  only  mode  of  travel  in  those 
primitive  days ;  and,  after  riding  all  day,  his  stopping-place  was 
often  only  a  little  tavern,  which  he  would  reach  cold,  wet,  and 
hungry,  and  compelled  to  sit  down  to  coarse,  unwholesome  food, 
which  the  stomach  revolted  at,  but  was  obliged  to  be  partaken  in 
order  to  sustain  him  on  his  journeys.  "  Mullein-tea,"  for  instance, 
does  not  sound  very  palatable.  In  his  earlier  diaries,  I  find  such 
extracts  as  these,  after  riding  all  day  :  "Weather  cold  and  windy, 
much  distressed  with  toothache.  Reach  Bolivar  a  little  after  sun- 
down ;  stop  at  the  tavern,  so  weary  I  cannot  dismount  without 
assistance.  After  a  sleepless  and  uncomfortable  night,  head 
aching  badly,  eyes  sore,  and  every  bone  and  muscle  giving  pain  ;  " 
but  must  press  on,  and  have  service  that  day.  Often  his  onty 
comment,  after  his  day's  labor  was  ended,  was,  "  Weary  !  weary  ! 
weary !  "  .  .  . 

To  his  servants,  my  father  was  a  kind  and  considerate  master. 
Those  born  under  his  roof,  he  always  baptized,  and  endeavored  to 
bring  them  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  having  them  taught  the 
Church  Catechism,  and  being  very  particular  about  their  attendance 
at  family  worship  morning  and  evening.  Frequently  he  would 
explain  the  Scriptures,  as  he  would  read  to  them.  .  .  . 

In  his  last  illness  he  was  most  patient,  submissive,  and  gentle. 
It  was  truly  touching,  when  his  mind  began  to  fail,  to  hear  him 
humbly  ask  for  an}'  thing,  saj'ing,  "  If  it  is  no  trouble;"  sur- 
rounded, though,  by  anxious  friends,  eager  to  obey  his  slightest 
glance.  The  last  time  but  one  that  he  partook  of  the  Holy  Sac- 
rament, he  requested  the  Minister  to  pause  for  a  moment  at  the 


1 74  Appendix. 

words  in  the  General  Confession,  "by  thought,  word,  and  deed," 
repeating  them  himself  with  marked  earnestness  and  solemnit}7" ; 
and,  on  receiving  the  cup,  held  it  a  moment  clasped  in  his  trem- 
bling hands,  and  said,  "  I  call  you  all  present  to  witness  that  my 
only  hope  of  salvation  is  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ."  .  .  . 
During  the  last  week  of  his  illness,  when  his  mind  failed  him,  and 
he  was  almost  insensible  to  what  was  going  on  around  him,  he 
would  understand  words  and  sentences  of  Scripture,  while  nothing 
else  would  attract  his  attention  ;  and  once,  when  we  knelt  in  prayer 
at  his  bedside,  he  seemed  unconscious,  until  the  words,  "  Our 
Father,"  struck  his  attention  ;  and  he  then  joined  with  us  in  a  low 
but  distinct  voice. 

From  Mrs.  Eliza  (or  Donna)  Compton,  youngest 
daughter  of  the  Bishop. 

DEAR  BISHOP  GREEN,  —  I  regret  that  in  answer  to  your  request 
I  can  do  nothing  more  than  to  notice  briefly  some  of  those  simple, 
obscure,  }Tet  endearing  incidents  of  my  father's  ministry,  little 
known  save  only  to  Him  whose  "  eyelids  try  the  children  of  men." 
.  .  .  Like  the  "sower"  in  Holy  Writ,  he  planted  the  seeds  for 
a  great  educational  and  ministerial  work  in  the  pioneer  States 
of  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana,  —  seeds  of 
which  he  saw  only  the  sowing,  but  which,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
are  now  blooming,  and  dispensing  their  fruits  through  the  land. 

In  Maury,  Shelby,  and  Williamson  Counties,  of  Tennessee,  were 
settled  many  families  from  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  North  Caro- 
lina ;  worthy,  excellent,  and  industrious  people,  but  most  of  them 
Scotch-Irish,  and  by  birth  and  early  training  inimical  to  our 
Church.  They,  however,  soon  learned  to  like  and  respect  the 
}Toung  tutor,  and  he  found  many  firm  friends  among  them. 

With  the  help  of  his  fair-haired  and  courageous  young  wife, 
who  had  left  her  home  in  North  Carolina  to  share  his  fortunes  in 
the  new  country,  he  made  himself  a  simple  but  happy  home. 
Besides  the  occupations  of  teacher  and  pastor,  he  had  the  rude 
necessities  of  daily  toil  to  encounter  ;  for  there  was  little  done  on 
the  small  farm  where  they  lived,  without  his  personal  supervision, 


Extracts  from  Letters.  175 

and  oftentimes  the  labor  of  his  own  hands.  Like  St.  Paul,  he 
4 'liked  to  be  chargeable  to  no  man."  The  same  hand  that  during 
the  day  assisted  his  domestics  in  gathering  in  the  winter  stores, 
was  in  the  evening  employed  with  a  rapid  and  vigorous  pen  in 
corresponding  with  the  most  distinguished  minds  of  the  day,  on 
the  highest  and  noblest  themes  for  the  enlightenment  and  improve- 
ment of  humanity. 

If  we  add  to  these  the  care  of  many  schools  and  churches,  and 
the  unavoidable  sorrows  and  troubles  of  the  little  parish,  his  im- 
mediate charge,  we  shall  see  how  arduous  were  his  duties  ere  yet 
had  been  thrust  upon  him  the  labor  and  responsibility  of  his 
maturer  years,  as  Bishop  of  Tennessee,  and  Provisional  Bishop  of 
the  adjacent  States  of  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas."  .  .  . 
He  passed  from  one  territory  to  another,  not  like  the  Highlander 
with  fiery  cross,  speeding  over  valleys  and  mountains  to  rouse  to 
war  and  bloodshed ;  but  was  no  less  ardent  and  intent  in  spreading 
abroad  the  knowledge  of  that  cross  which  is  the  only  beacon-light 
that  can  arouse  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  or  apathetic  from  their 
slumbers,  and  lead  them  on  to  a  higher  life.  He  went  from  day 
to  day  baptizing,  preaching,  and  confirming,  in  small  stations  far 
away,  among  Indians,  and  a  rude  soldiery  in  distant  garrisons. 
Yet  it  is  pleasing  to  reflect  that  in  all  his  missions  he  met  with 
many  courteous  and  cultivated  people,  such  as  the  officers  of  the 
United-States  Army  and  their  families,  with  whom  were  begun  and 
continued  very  pleasant  and  life-long  friendships.  .  .  . 

Though  often  sick  and  overcome  by  fatigue,  he  never  failed  to 
enjoy  the  terrible  beauty  of  the  swollen,  rushing  streams,  the  wide- 
spreading  prairies,  the  dark  and  tangled  swamps  ;  and  more  than 
once  we  find  him  exclaiming,  "  Oh  the  mountains  !  the  blue,  blue 
mountains  !  how  they  remind  me  of  my  own,  my  native  State,  my 
dearly  loved  Virginia  !  .  .  . 

Such  was  the  tenor  of  my  father's  life  for  many  years.  Besides 
the  care  of  his  own  Diocese,  he  paid  annual  visitations  to  three 
neighboring  States,  until  the  gradual  growth  of  the  Church  within 
their  borders  enabled  them  as  Dioceses  to  provide  Chief  Shepherds 
for  themselves.  During  the  time  of  these  Southern  visitations,  he 
formed  many  of  the  noblest  and  truest  friendships  ;  finding  in 


176  Appendix. 

many  places  a  generous  and  ready  help,  and  meeting  at  all  times 
with  the  most  cordial  and  bountiful  hospitality. 

The  following  short  extract  is  from  a  letter  of  Mrs. 
Mary  F.  Govan,  another  daughter  of  the  Bishop :  — 

The  great  reverence  and  love  which  we  felt  for  our  dear  father 
could  hardly  be  surpassed  in  any  other  family.  I  can  remember 
him  at  all  times  full  of  patience,  affection,  and  forbearance  towards 
each  one  of  us.  Among  the  last  acts  of  his  life,  he  called  me  to 
his  bedside,  and  made  me  kneel,  pronouncing  a  blessing  upon  me, 
which,  through  God's  mercy,  has  followed  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life. 

Extracts  from  a  Letter  of  Rev.  Thomas  W.  Humes, 
D.D.,  an  esteemed  Presbyter  of  Bishop  Otey.  and  long 
on  terms  of  affection  and  intimacy  with  him. 

In  his  natural  constitution,  Bishop  Otey  was  built  up  to  be  one 
of  the  superior  men  of  his  day  and  generation.  His  personal  pres- 
ence, when  in  his  prime,  was  both  impressive  and  attractive.  Tall, 
strong,  well-formed,  having  a  complexion  in  which  the  red  harmo- 
niously commingled  with  the  white,  dark  and  expressive  eyes, 
coal-black  hair,  and  unstudied  bearing  and  manners,  it  seemed 

that 

"  The  elements  were 

So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up, 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  is  a  man  !  " 

The  imagination  of  the  youthful  observer  might  be  excused  for 
finding  in  him  the  resemblance  to  its  ideal  of  a  great  chieftain. 
And,  indeed,  as  a  natural  man,  he  was  evidently  born  to  command. 
.  .  .  He  was  once  heard  himself  to  say,  that,  if  he  had  not  become 
a  Christian  Minister,  he  would  have  been  a  soldier.  Happily  the 
grace  of  God,  through  faith  in  "  the  Captain-General  of  our  salva- 
tion," turned  his  combative,  heroic  qualities  to  a  higher  and  nobler 
warfare  than  one  of  flesh  and  blood.  .  .  . 

The  Bishop  was  scrupulous  in  adhering  to  the  prescribed  forms 


Extracts  from  Letters. 

as  well  as  doctrines  of  the  Church ;  but  was  not  afraid  to  depart 
from  them  when  the  occasion  seemed  to  justify  it,  —  as  the  follow- 
ing will  show.  He  was  once  about  to  administer  Confirmation  to 
the  wife  of  an  aged  General,  at  an  open-air  meeting  of  the  people 
of  the  country,  in  the  woods  of  Arkansas.  He  had  before  con- 
versed, concerning  the  faith  in  Christ,  with  the  veteran  officer; 
who  stood  alone  in  the  congregation  when  his  wife  left  his  side, 
and  went  forward  to  receive  "  the  laying-on  of  hands."  "  Gen- 
eral C.,"  the  Bishop  called  aloud,  "  you  have  been  a  good  soldier 
of  your  country :  now  show  yourself  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ."  With  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks,  the  General 
obeyed  the  call,  went  forward,  was  confirmed,  and  ever  afterwards 
until  his  death  led  a  consistent  Christian  life.  .  .  . 

In  other  respects  than  physically,  Bishop  Otey  was  one  of 
Nature's  noblemen.  His  vigorous  and  active  mind  had  been  so 
disciplined  and  informed,  that  it  performed  its  assigned  work  with 
ease  and  efficiency.  His  heart,  full  of  kindness  and  good-will  to 
all  men,  throbbed  quickly  and  warmly  in  response  to  just  and  gen- 
erous sentiments  and  influences.  His  conscience  spoke  to  him, 
not  only  with  authority,  but  with  a  power  that  he  was  ever  ready 
to  acknowledge.  And  his  will,  when  once  he  was  convinced  as  to 
the  line  of  his  duty,  had  the  fibre  of  iron  and  the  tenacity  of  the 
magnet.  Yet,  grand  as  he  was  in  his  robust  manhood,  his  guile- 
lessness  was  that  of  a  little  child.  Sincerity  and  simplicity  were 
marked  traits  of  his  character.  .  .  . 

As  a  preacher,  Bishop  Otey  had  marked  ability.  His  personal 
presence  could  not  fail  to  give  some  weight  and  efficiency  to  his 
discourse  ;  but  the  discourse,  by  virtue  of  its  own  merits,  scarcely 
needed  such  aid.  The  character  of  his  sermons  was  not  so  per- 
suasive as  edifying.  .  .  .  He  stuck  closely  to  his  subject,  -r-  turn- 
ing it  over  and  over,  presenting  it  in  various  lights,  and  hammering 
on  its  different  sides,  so  that  the  listener  might  see  it  in  its  full  and 
proper  form  and  use.  To  win  men  to  Christ,  and  to  build  them 
up  in  Christ,  was  his  chief  aim  and  endeavor. 

Bishop  Otey  called  himself  simply  a  Churchman,  after  the 
pattern  of  the  Prayer-Book,  irrespective  of  party  lines  and  conten- 
tions. The  emotional,  sympathetic  element  in  his  nature  was  very 


1 78  Appendix. 

strong ;  but  his  reason  was  at  the  same  time  calmly  enthroned ; 
and  to  its  decisions  he  brought  the  impulses  which  spring  from  the 
feelings.  He  therefore  cherished  a  spirit  of  moderation,  unfriendly 
to  extreme  views  and  measures.  He  stoutly  advocated  his  delib- 
ate  opinions  concerning  the  Scriptural  Constitution  and  Apostolic 
Ministry  of  the  visible  Church ;  but  he  respected,  and  forebore 
with,  his  brethren  whose  opinions  on  those  subjects  were  less  ele- 
vated and  stringent  than  his  own.  He  deplored  the  bodily  disin- 
tegration of  the  Church,  —  the  divisions  into  numerous  sects  or 
denominations  of  Christian  people ;  .  .  .  and,  having  in  his  heart 
brotherly  affection  for  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincer- 
ity, he  labored  upon  opportunity  for  the  healing  of  those  divisions. 
But  the  unity  for  which  he  prayed  and  sought  was  not  of  the  type 
which  Rome  pretentiously  presents,  and  to  which  she  deceivingly 
invites.  Being  Evangelical  and  a  Churchman,  he  was  also  a  most 
decided  Protestant.  To  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  the  Eng- 
lish Reformation,  as  maintained  by  Latimer,  Ridley,  and  Jewell, 
he  adhered  with  firmness  and  even  jealousy.  Any  attempt  to 
teach  the  false  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  by  word  or 
S3rmbol,  met  with  his  marked  displeasure  and  hostility. 

He  loved  the  Bible,  studied  it  thoughtfully,  to  the  end  of  under- 
standing it,  and  had  an  accurate  and  extensive  knowledge  of  its 
contents.  A  young  man,  on  becoming  a  Candidate  for  Deacons' 
Orders,  asked  him,  "What  shall  I  study?"  The  answer  was, 
44  Study  the  Bible."  .  .  . 

His  rich  and  fruitful  experience  of  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul 
was  not  a  subject  with  him  of  frequent  conversation,  nor  with 
more  than  a  few  friends.  Others  learned  of  the  things  that  oc- 
curred in  the  silent  chambers  of  his  heart,  not  from  his  lips,  but 
from  his  life  and  walk.  His  strong,  prevailing  desire  was  after 
holiness.  It  was,  that  God  would  sanctify  him,  body,  soul  and 
spirit.  .  .  . 

There  was  one  Christian  virtue  more  deeply  wrought  into  his 
character  than  many  observers  supposed.  It  was  seen  of  God, 
rather  than  of  men.  His  humility,  like  his  guilelessness,  was  that 
of  a  little  child.  Among  his  fellow-men,  he  bore  himself  with 
princely  dignity  and  courage.  But  he  was  "lowly  in  his  own 


Extracts  from  Letters.  179 

eyes."  To  instruction  from  others'  lips,  he  had  an  open  ear  and 
mind,  and  was  not  ashamed,  figuratively,  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  one 
younger  than  himself  in  years,  subordinate  in  position,  and  un- 
worthy of  such  honor.  .  .  . 

In  the  last  decade  of  his  life,  his  domestic  afflictions  were 
serious  and  distressing.  He  felt  them  keenly,  for  he  had  an 
inexpressible  tenderness  of  heart.  But  they  were  instrumental 
in  bringing  him  nearer  to  the  Lord,  by  faith,  and,  through  the 
gracious  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  increasing  him  in  holiness 
and  patience,  and  so  in  "  meekness  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints 
in  light." 

Shortly  after  the  decease  of  his  wife  in  the  summer  of  1861,  he 
wrote  to  me  as  follows  :  — 

BEEBSHEBA  SPRINGS,  July  2, 1861. 

REV.  AND  DEAR  BROTHER  HUMES, — Yours  of  the  24th  ult. 
reached  me  last  evening,  forwarded  from  Memphis.  I  thank  you 
most  sincerely  for  the  many  suggestions  of  comfort  which  it  offers. 
Mine  is  a  bereavement  which  you  have  experienced,  and  can 
therefore  sympathize  with  one  thus  called  to  suffer.  I  know  and 
strive  to  realize  the  full  extent  of  the  duty  which  this  painful  cor- 
rection was  doubtless  intended  to  teach  me  specially,  whatever  pur- 
pose it  was  intended  to  serve  in  reference  to  others.  I  know  that 
in  very  faithfulness  the  Lord  has  caused  me  to  be  troubled.  .  .  . 
Truly  do  you  say  that  the  school  of  Christ  is  the  school  of  afflic- 
tion, and  we  may  thankfully  submit  to  learn,  if  we  can  but  clearly 
comprehend  the  lesson  taught.  But  to  do  this,  we  must  in  a  sense 
be  made  over  again.  As  some  old  writer  says,  "  One  creation 
does  not  serve  our  turn."  God  must  re-create  us,  and  form  us 
anew.  Well  do  I  remember  years  ago  how  strangely  such  senti- 
ments fell  upon  my  spiritual  hearing ;  my  ear  then  just  beginning 
to  listen  to  such  instruction,  and,  alas  !  even  yet  dull  to  hear  and 
to  learn.  I  used  to  think  with  myself,  that  I  lacked  proofs  of  my 
adoption  into  the  famity  of  God,  because  I  had  then  seen  no  afflic- 
tion. .  .  .  And  now  the  Lord  has  not  left  me  without  witness ! 
Brothers  and  sisters  have  gone  !  children  that  I  loved  too  tenderly 
have  gone ;  brethren  dear  to  me  have  gone ;  father  and  mother 
gone  ;  and  now  my  beloved  wife,  —  part  of  myself,  — the  compan- 


180  Appendix. 

ion  of  life's  joys  and  sorrows  for  forty  years,  gone  !  My  hearth- 
stone is  cold  and  cheerless,  the  light  in  my  dwelling  put  out  in 
obscure  darkness  ;  and  I  am  left  desolate  "  as  a  lodge  in  a  garden 
of  cucumbers."  .  .  .  Have  I  not  had  enough,  my  dear  brother? 
and  must  I  not  be  the  most  hardened  and  stupid  of  all  those  who 
profess  to  serve  God  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Church,  if  I  fail  to  learn 
the  lessons  which  these  sore  and  repeated  chastisements  were  in- 
tended to  teach  me?  May  God,  the  blessed  Comforter,  teach  me, 
enlighten  me,  dwell  in  me,  and  sanctify  me  wholly,  —  soul,  body, 
and  spirit !  But  ah  !  how  often  have  I  uttered  this  prayer,  and  3ret 
how  reluctant  still  to  be  taught,  and  to  lie  passive  as  the  clay  in 
the  potter's  hands  !  Well,  we  have  the  assurance  of  God's  Word, 
that  He  will  not  forsake  His  people :  and  our  wretchedness,  our 
weakness  and  blindness,  may  serve  as  a  plea,  through  Christ,  to 
move  His  pity  and  gain  His  help.  .  .  . 

To  the  same  Presb37ter  he  wrote  from  Beersheba,  Sept.  18, 
1861:  — 

"  My  daughter  will  take  control  of  nry  household  matters  ;  and 
I  look  forward  with  pleasing  hope,  '  if  it  be  God's  will,'  to  devote 
the  brief  remnant  of  life  more  fully  and  entirely  to  His  service  than 
I  have  ever  yet  been  able  to  do." 

But,  alas !  the  remnant  of  that  life  on  earth  was  very  short. 
The  subsequent  }*ear,  he  was  called  away  from  the  midst  of  man's 
commotions  and  strife,  to  be  with  that  God  in  whose  presence  is 
life,  and  at  whose  right  hand  are  pleasures  forever  more. 

T.  W.  HUMES. 

From  the  Kev.  George  C.  Harris,  D.D. 

It  was  during  the  last  five  years  of  Bishop  Otey's  life,  that  I 
came  to  know  him  well.  In  previous  years  I  had  often  seen  him, 
and  felt  the  power  of  his  magnificent  presence ;  but  I  was  at  a 
distance  from  him,  and  known  to  him  but  slightly.  When,  how- 
ever, in  the  providence  of  God  I  came  under  his  care  as  a  young 
Deacon,  I  did  not  fail  to  discover,  even  if  I  did  not  then  appreciate 
as  now,  the  paternal  tenderness  of  his  loving  heart.  Familiarity 
with  him  heightened  the  sense  of  his  greatness,  while  it  revealed 


Extracts  from  Letters.  181 

the  strong  root  out  of  which  it  grew,  —  forgetfulness  of  self  in  the 
constant  recollection  of  God  and  men. 

As  a  scholar  and  preacher,.  Bishop  Otey  stood  —  as  also  he 
did  in  physical  stature  —  head  and  shoulders  above  his  Clergy. 
Ability  to  execute,  and  discernment  to  direct  and  counsel  wisely, 
were,  in  my  judgment,  his  distinguishing  characteristics.  In  this  I 
would  not  be  understood  as  referring  to  what  is  called  administra- 
tive ability.  Many  a  weaker  Bishop  has  administered  his  Diocese 
with  more  success,  as  that  word  goes.  This  kind  of  ability  is  a 
mere  business  quality,  such  as  may  be  found  in  counting-houses 
the  world  over.  But  to  be  able  to  direct  and  counsel  men  to  do 
the  right  thing  because  it  is  right,  on  a  distinctly  perceived  theory 
of  Christian  philosophy,  regardless  of  present  results, — this  is  a 
different  and  a  larger  faculty. 

Another  distinguishing  feature  of  Bishop  Otey's  character  was 
the  perfect  S37mpathy  he  had  acquired  with  every  form  of  human 
sorrow.  Whoever  knows  of  the  many  sorrowful  passages  of  the 
Bishop's  life  will  understand  by  what  steps  he  had  been  led  along 
towards  this  large  development  of  the  Divine  love.  In  his  Epis- 
copate of  nearly  thirty  years,  one  finds  much  of  toil  and  hardship, 
and  much  also  of  sorrowful  disappointment.  And  yet  there  were 
no  dolorous  chords  in  all  his  heart.  Full  of  soberness  and  dig- 
nity he  was,  but  full  also  of  chastened  brightness. 

The  fine  black  e}Te,  with  which  it  would  seem  he  could  look 
through  a  man,  would  sparkle  with  delight,  and  the  whole  strong 
face  grow  radiant,  as,  leaving  graver  duties,  he  took  his  full  share 
of  social  converse. 

More  than  twenty  3Tears  he  has  been  in  Paradise.  The  great 
storm  of  '61-' 6 5  bore  him  away  from  us,  a  victim  of  the  civil  war 
as  truly  as  that  other  Bishop  whose  breast  was  visibly  lacerated  in 
the  unequal  conflict. 

I  have  no  authority  to  speak  for  the  rest,  but  I  do  not  doubt 
I  voice  a  sentiment  common  to  all  the  living  of  Bishop  Otey's 
Clergy  in  saying  he  was  a  model  man  and  a  model  Bishop. 

The  following  letter  is  from  Captain  James  S.  John- 
ston of  Church  Hill,  near  Natchez,  whose  hospitable 


182  Appendix. 

doors  were  always  open  to  welcome  the  Bishop  on  his 
annual  visitations. 

AUBURN  HALL. 

MY  BELOVED  AND  VENERATED  BISHOP,  —  ...  Most  sincerely  do 
I  wish  that  I  were  competent  to  execute  the  task  you  ask  me  to 
undertake,  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  subject ;  but  my  crude  and 
feeble  pen  is  entirely  inadequate  to  pourtray  the  character  of  one  so 
exalted  as  our  lamented  friend  the  late  Bishop  of  Tennessee. 

Bishop  Otey  was  a  man  to  be  pre-eminently  loved,  honored,  and 
revered  by  his  fellow-men ;  for  he  beautifully  combined  the  mascu- 
line and  forceful  traits  held  in  such  high  estimation  by  the  world, 
with  the  softer  and  gentler  graces  of  the  humble-minded  and 
devout  Christian. 

The  personal  qualities,  which  so  inspired  the  admiration,  and 
won  the  attachment  of  friends,  were  a  sublime  elevation  of  moral 
character,  lifting  him  above  every  thing  sensual  and  gross ;  an 
inflexible  adherence  to  principle  ;  a  devotion  to  truth  imparting  to 
his  every  word  the  value  of  a  pledge  of  honor ;  mildness  and  even- 
ness of  disposition  ;  unaffected  simplicity  of  manner ;  transparent 
purity  of  heart;  feminine  delicacy  of  thought,  and  chasteness  of 
expression  ;  a  tender  s}*mpathy,  responsive  to  every  cry  of  distress  ; 
and  a  charity  alive  to  every  appeal  of  human  want  and  suffering. 
,  My  recollections  of  this  great  and  good  man  and  revered  prelate, 
in  his  prime,  bring  before  my  mental  vision  the  image  of  a  per- 
son of  imposing  stature,  robust  frame,  and  vigorous  constitution, 
stately  in  presence,  and  dignified  in  address.  In  his  large,  well-filled 
proportions,  he  was  a  striking  type  of  physical  manhood.  The 
vigor  of  his  mind  was  in  full  keeping  with  the  grandeur  of  his 
frame,  its  counterpart  and  equal.  His  intellect  was  cast  in  a  capa- 
cious mould,  the  jewel  being  worthy  of  the  casket  that  contained 
it.  Equally  vigorous  in  mind  and  body,  he  afforded  an  apt  illus- 
tration of  the  classic  conception,  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano.  .  .  . 

The  Oteys  of  Bedford,  as  a  family,  were  remarkable  for  their 
prowess,  no  less  than  for  their  high  and  chivalrous  spirit.  Some 
of  them  were  marvellous  specimens  of  muscular  development  and 
athletic  power.  Fortitude  and  physical  strength  came  to  the  Bishop, 


Extracts  from  Letters.  183 

therefore,  as  a  legacy  from  ancestors  of  semi-gigantic  size.  When 
a  3*oung  man,  before  taking  Orders  in  the  Church,  he  was  once  a 
passenger  on  a  steamboat,  with  two  ladies  committed  to  his  care. 
While  promenading  the  deck,  they  were  insulted  in  his  presence 
by  a  rowdy.  The  insult  was  promptly  resented  by  their  chivalrous 
escort,  who  by  a  single  trip-hammer  blow  of  his  clinched  fist  felled 
the  ruffian  to  the  floor ;  who,  on  rising  to  his  feet,  was  glad  to  get 
off  by  a  humble  apology. 

The  birthplace  of  Bishop  Otey  was  in  a  region  almost  unrivalled 
for  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  its  scenery.  He  was  born  and 
reared  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  historic  Peaks  of  Otter,  in  the 
glorious  old  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  the  mother  of  States  and 
statesmen.  .  .  .  From  the  same  interesting  locality,  beneath  the 
overshadowing  brow  of  those  lofty  and  picturesque  Peaks,  came 
also,  as  Bishop  Otey's  contemporary,  and  dear  and  devoted  friend, 
the  saintly  Nicholas  Hamner  Cobbs,  first  Bishop  of  Alabama  ;  who, 
in  habitual  meekness,  and  humility  of  spirit,  seemed  to  bear  to 
Bishop  Otey  the  relation  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  borne  by 
the  "beloved  disciple"  to  the  sturdier  and  more  aggressive 
Peter."  .  .  . 

My  acquaintance  with  the  Bishop  commenced  at  the  time  of  his 
election  as  Provisional  Bishop  of  Mississippi.  .  .  .  Once  a  year, 
at  least,  he  came  to  look  after  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  Church 
thus  confided  to  his  care.  At  such  periods,  his  paternal  visits  to 
our  infant  and  often  destitute  parishes  were  like  refreshing  show- 
ers falling  upon  a  parched  and  thirsty  land.  Nothing  could  exceed 
the  cordial  and  enthusiastic  greeting  extended  to  him  on  these 
occasions,  by  old  and  young,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor.  Not 
the  least  of  his  many  social  charms  was  a  benign  and  captivating 
expression  of  goodness,  that  habitually  lighted  up  his  manly  fea- 
tures, and  beamed  like  mellow  sunshine  from  his  benevolent  face. 
His  sweet  and  gracious  smile  was  a  reflex  of  the  goodness  that 
comes  from  the  heart,  and  which  never  fails  to  win  and  please, 
because  it  does  come  straightway  from  the  heart.  .  .  . 

On  the  occasion  of  his  visits,  —  too  few  and  far  between, — 
Bishop^ Otey's  great  and  loving  heart  flowed  out  to  his  people  in 
streams  of  generous  and  sympathizing  love.  Never,  while  mem- 


184  Appendix. 

ory  lasts,  can  we  forget  the  kindness  and  tenderness  of  his  care, 
or  the  gentleness  of  his  ministrations,  as  he  passed  in  and  out 
amongst  us,  faithfully  delivering  the  message  of  redemption  through 
the  blood  of  a  crucified  Saviour,  breaking  to  us  the  bread  of  life, 
baptizing  our  little  ones,  laying  hands  on  those  of  riper  years, 
binding  us  in  the  bonds  of  holy  wedlock,  burying  our  dead,  and 
pointing  the  living  to  the  way  of  eternal  life. 

His  sermons  were,  for  the  most  part,  of  a  didactic  nature,  and 
in  no  degree  calculated  for  sensational  effect,  though  always  deliv- 
ered with  energy  and  warmth.  He  was  thoughtful  in  the  choice  of 
his  subjects,  and  the  selection  of  appropriate  texts,  and  rarely 
preached  without  careful  and  diligent  preparation.  ...  No 
preacher  ever  spoke  with  a  deeper  conviction  of  the  truth  and 
importance  of  the  message  he  was  commissioned  to  bear.  This 
gave  great  emphasis  and  impressive  earnestness  to  all  his  utter- 
ances from  the  sacred  desk.  His  st}'le,  though  forcible,  and  at 
times  eloquent,  was  in  no  sense  rhetorical.  He  cared  less  than 
any  man  for  the  mere  tinsel  of  oratory  or  the  flowers  of  fancy. 
He  was  a  stranger  to  metaphor,  and  had  the  merest  minimum  of 
poetry  in  his  nature.  .  .  .  He  loved  the  truth,  and  was  ambitious 
above  all  things  to  make  it  clear  to  the  understandings  of  men. 
His  undeniable  strength  and  power  lay  in  a  sound  judgment,  good 
natural  sense,  perfect  purity  of  purpose,  a  practical  knowledge  of 
men,  and  of  the  best  and  surest  methods  of  reaching  their  con- 
sciences, and  dealing  with  their  obstinacy  and  pride.  .  .  . 

Very  few  of  Bishop  Otey's  sermons,  valuable  and  instructive  as 
they  were,  ever  found  their  way  into  print.  His  celebrated  dis- 
courses on  "  The  Threefold  Ministry"  were  preached  and  published 
while  he  was  Provisional  Bishop  in  this  Diocese.  They  taught  a 
multitude  of  professing  Churchmen  here,  much  they  had  never 
known  before.  .  .  .  They  started  the  Church  in  Mississippi 
in  the  right  direction.  And  we  are  indebted  to  you,  Right 
Reverend  Father,  for  a  further  faithful  continuance  of  the  good 
work  which  has  proved  so  fruitful  in  its  enlightening  and  beneficent 
results. 

What  more,  my  dear  Bishop,  can  I  say  within  the  limits  of  the 
space  assigned  me  ?  I  am  afraid  I  have  already  transcended  those 


Extracts  from  Letters.  185 

limits.  I  have  written  '  calamo  currente.'  Should  you  find  any 
thing  to  suit  you  in  these  hurried  lines,  make  such  use  of  them  as 
you  choose,  and  discard  any  or  all  that  does  not  fall  within  the 
scope  of  your  design. 

With  sentiments  of  affectionate  esteem  and  love,  I  remain,  my 

dear  Bishop, 

Your  Son  in  Christ, 

JAS.  S.  JOHNSTON. 

The  following  is  from  the  Rev.  William  C.  Gray, 
D.D.,  one  of  the  Bishop's  Presbyters  :  — 

If  I  were  to  attempt  to  give  an  estimate  of  Bishop  Otey's  char- 
acter in  few  words,  I  would  say  that  his  greatness  impressed  me 
in  a  threefold  manner.  He  was  powerful  physically,  intellectually, 
and  spiritually. 

He  was  of  commanding  stature,  six  feet  four  inches  in  height, 
broad-shouldered  and  well  proportioned ;  with  an  expression  of 
countenance,  and  a  dark,  piercing  eye,  which,  wherever  he  went, 
proclaimed  him  a  born  leader  of  men. 

Intellectually  he  towered  in  quite  as  striking  a  manner  among 
men  as  he  did  physically.  .  .  .  His  polished  language  and  im- 
pressive oratory  were  never  used  as  the  vehicle  of  "  airy  nothings," 
but  were  ever  setting  forth  profound  thoughts,  important  truths, 
and  principles  of  a  far-reaching  and  undying  character. 

But  above  all,  and  giving  the  highest  touch  of  grandeur  to  this 
rare  development  of  a  human  trinity,  was  his  spiritual  attainment. 
Strong  as  a  lion,  he  was  gentle  as  a  lamb.  Skilled  in  learning, 
ancient  and  modern,  and  "  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,"  he  was  the 
genial  companion  of  his  humblest  Deacon,  or  poorest  and  most 
obscure  communicant.  He  combined  the  dignity  of  an  emperor 
with  the  simplicity  of  a  little  child.  He  could  touch  the  hearts  of 
others,  because  he  spoke  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  own  ;  for  often- 
times, when  pleading  with  sinful  men  to  be  "  reconciled  to  God," 
the  tears  on  his  own  cheeks  would  testify  how  deeply  he  felt  what 
he  strove  to  impress  upon  others. 

To  his  Clergy  and  Postulants,  he  was  ever  a  sympathizing  and 


186  Appendix 

loving  father;  accessible  at  all  times,  and  ever  manifesting  a 
personal  interest  in  the  welfare  of  each. 

While  stern  and  uncompromising  in  rebuking  sin,  and  firm  and 
fearless  in  maintaining  the  principles  of  the  Church,  he  found  his 
most  congenial  work  in  showing  forth,  both  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple, in  public  and  in  private,  the  results  of  that  all-controlling 
apostolic  principle,  "  the  constraining  love  of  Christ."  .  .  . 

From  the  very  inception  of  his  work  in  Tennessee,  he  saw  that 
the  great  demand  of  the  age  was  for  a  system  of  education  looking 
to  the  simultaneous  and  equal  development  of  body,  mind,  and 
spirit. 

This  was  undoubtedly  the  ever-present  and  prevailing  thought 
of  his  great  mind  during  his  Ministry  of  thirty-six  years.  .  .  .  His 
interest  in,  and  efforts  for,  the  cause  of  Christian  female  education, 
are  well  known ;  and  his  efforts  to  lay  foundations  for  the  deepest, 
broadest,  and  highest  culture  for  our  boys  and  young  men,  are  no 
less  noteworthy.  He  began  with  this  idea  at  Franklin,  continued 
it  at  Columbia,  set  it  forth  before  his  Conventions,  before  repre- 
sentative people  of  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana,  and 
before  the  representative  Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  laymen  of  the 
entire  country,  assembled  in  Richmond,  Va.,  in  1859.  .  .  . 

Without  doubt,  in  his  early  begun  and  constantly  renewed  plans 
for  a  Classical  and  Theological  Seminary,  to  be  founded  and  main- 
tained by  the  States  of  the  South-West,  is  to  be  found  the  germ  of 
that  Institution  even  now  blessing  our  South,  and  pregnant  with 
foreshadowed  blessings  for  the  entire  country,  —  the  UNIVERSITY 
OF  THE  SOUTH. 

The  great  Bishop  passed  away  from  earth  in  the  midst  of  the 
"  clouds  and  darkness  "  of  the  late  civil  war,  which,  if  it  did  not 
break  his  heart,  undoubtedly  shortened  his  life.  He  deplored  its 
beginnings.  He  prayed  and  he  hoped,  even  against  hope,  that  it 
might  be  averted ;  but  in  vain.  .  .  . 

It  was  my  privilege  to  be  with  my  beloved  Bishop  in  his  last 
illness.  In  consequence  of  the  war  which  was  still  raging  around 
us,  none  of  his  brother  Bishops  could  be  with  him ;  but  a  few  of 
his  faithful  Priests  were  at  his  bedside.  However  thick  the  dark- 
ness outside,  the  dying  Christian  u  had  light  in  his  dwelling."  I 


Extracts  from  Letters.  187 

stood  by  his  bedside,  while  he  spake  to  us  words  of  heavenly  wis- 
dom, and  almost  enabled  us  to  look  upon  the  glories  of  that  region 
into  which  he  was  just  entering.  And  when  he  ceased  speaking, 
and  angels  were  bearing  his  spirit  away  to  the  Paradise  of  God,  it 
was  my  privilege  to  close  his  eyes  in  their  last  sleep. 

W.   C.   GRAY. 


ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS. 


ADDRESS.1 

It  is  the  distinguishing  and  peculiar  glory  of  Christianity,  that 
she  has  ever  been  first  and  foremost  in  works  of  benevolence. 
The  charity  which  she  inculcates  embraces  in  its  outgoings  the 
whole  race  of  mankind.  Wherever  misery  has  found  an  abode, 
or  misfortune  a  dwelling-place,  there  is  the  sphere  of  her  benign 
operations  ;  and  wherever  her  footsteps  can  be  traced  through  this 
wide  world  of  sin,  there  are  to  be  seen  in  the  light  which  she  sheds 
over  ignorance,  in  the  riches  which  she  gives  for  poverty,  in  the 
peace  and  happiness  which  she  diffuses  around  with  liberal  hand, 
the  impressive  proofs  of  her  kindred  ship  with  heaven.  The  insti- 
tutions which  Christian  benevolence  has  originated,  and  brought 
into  successful  operation,  are  as  various  in  their  objects  as  are  the 
forms  of  human  misery ;  and  it  is  a  fact  to  which  we  too  seldom 
revert,  that,  previous  to  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel  into  our 
world,  not  a  single  asylum  or  hospital  for  the  afflicted  or  homeless 
was  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  to  Christianit}'  that 
we  are  indebted  for  the  establishment  of  all  those  institutions  in 
which  the  sick,  the  poor,  the  widow,  and  the  orphan  now  find  that 
sympathy  for  their  misery,  and  that  provision  for  their  wants,  which 
it  is  the  joy  of  the  compassionate  to  furnish. 

In  regard  to  the  institution  which  your  sense  of  duty  has  here 
founded,  and  which  your  charity  has  from  year  to  year  cherished, 

1  Delivered  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Otey,  of  Tennessee,  at  the  Annual 
Meeting  of  the  Orphan  Society  of  Natchez,  Miss.,  1836. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  189 

it  is  perhaps  sufficient  to  say,  that  it  is,  in  its  character  and 
objects,  essentially  Christian.  The  limits  of  this  address  do  not 
allow  me,  nor  perhaps  is  it  at  all  requisite,  to  attempt  an  enumera- 
tion of  all  the  beneficial  results  which  may  flow  from  its  operations. 
These  results  are  not  to  be  confined  to  the  boundaries  of  time  and 
sense  :  they  are  to  be  looked,  for  in  eternity.  Yet  it  may  be  prof- 
itable to  us,  perhaps,  to  contemplate  them  as  they  are  developed 
to  human  observation  here,  in  this  appropriate  and  appointed  field 
of  human  effort  and  trial ;  and  so  they  shall  surely  be  estimated  in 
a  brighter  but  better  and  purer  world. 

What,  then,  is  the  object  of  this  institution?  It  is  to  clothe  the 
naked,  feed  the  hungry,  and  provide  a  shelter  for  the  houseless. 
It  is  to  insure  protection  in  this  world  to  those  whom  God,  in  his 
wise  providence,  has  deprived  of  their  natural  guardians.  And 
does  not  such  an  object  commend  itself  at  once,  and  without  argu- 
ment, to  the  Christian  regards  of  every  feeling  and  benevolent 
heart?  With  whom  can  we  or  shall  we  sympathize,  if  not  those 
whose  very  helplessness  furnishes  an  argument  for  care  and  pro- 
tection, whose  dangers  call  so  loudly  for  a  defence  and  shield,  and 
whose  bereavement  appeals  so  forcibly  to  every  affection  in  the 
parental  bosom?  Cast  one  of  these  helpless  children,  now  an 
inmate  of  this  dwelling,  out  upon  the  uncertain  care  and  the  pre- 
carious support  which  the  world  will  furnish,  and  trace  in  imagina- 
tion, as  }*ou  may  with  the  unerring  certainty  of  truth,  her  wayward 
steps  through  the  snares  and  dangers  of  life.  Is  she  hungr}*? 
She  has  to  beg  bread.  Is  she  in  want  of  clothing?  She  has  to 
beg  it.  Is  she  without  a  shelter?  She  has  to  beg  a  lodging-place. 
And  now  mark  the  hardening  process  that  is  going  on  among  her 
young  and  budding  affections,  while  she  is  thus  driven  to  seek  for 
the  daily  necessaries  of  life.  The  natural  sensibility  of  her  soul  is 
blunted  ;  and  in  a  little  time  that  modesty  which  led  her  at  first  to 
ask  for  bread  or  shelter  with  feminine  timidity  of  bashfulness,  is 
succeeded  by  a  boldness  of  manner,  and  a  masculine  fearlessness 
of  bearing,  which,  while  it  shocks  the  feelings  of  the  more  refined, 
at  the  same  time  invites  a  refusal  to  the  demands  of  poverty.  The 
next  step  is  naturally,  if  not  inevitably,  to  the  haunts  of  licentious- 
ness and  crime.  Her  associates  are1  the  inmates  of  dark  and  dread- 


190  Appendix. 

ful  abodes,  who  will  patronize  and  encourage  every  step  she  makes 
in  iniquity,  until  their  wretched  victim,  made  as  much  the  child  of 
hell  as  themselves,  is  lost  to  herself  and  the  world,  and  puts  in 
practice  against  others  the  very  arts  by  which  she  herself  has  been 
irretrievably  ruined.  But  the  loss  of  character  and  reputation  is 
not  the  last  or  only  ruin  in  which  she  is  involved.  By  wicked  works 
she  is  alienated  from  God  ;  and,  in  casting  away  all  regard  for  the 
opinion  of  the  world,  she  has  also  thrown  off  all  fear  of  God.  She 
plunges  into  all  the  excesses  of  the  most  infamous  dissipation,  the 
most  degrading  brutality ;  lives  without  restraint,  dies  without 
hope  ;  and  reaps  the  fruits  of  her  own  doings  in  the  despair  of  hell, 
and  in  the  agony  of  the  second  death  !  Does  one  imagine  that  this 
is  a  fanciful  or  overwrought  picture  ?  Let  him  examine  the  reports 
of  benevolent  societies,  established  in  many  of  our  large  and  pop- 
ulous towns  for  the  purpose  of  meliorating  the  condition  of  the 
friendless  and  the  offcast,  and  he  will  see  that  I  have  but  barely 
touched  the  outlines  of  a  picture  too  revolting  in  its  features  to  be 
delineated. 

To  guard  against  results  so  shocking  to  the  better  feelings  of 
our  nature,  seems  to  be  an  obvious  dictate  of  humanity.  The  case 
which  I  have  supposed  has  been  invested  with  the  sad  realities  of 
truth  in  too  many  instances  ;  and  the  number  of  these  might  have 
been  increased  within  the  sphere  of  your  own  personal  knowledge 
and  observation,  but  for  the  timely  and  sufficient  remedy  provided 
against  their  occurrence,  by  the  establishment  of  this  humane  and 
charitable  institution.  Here  the  most  forlorn  and  friendless  of  our 
race,  the  orphan,  may  not  only  find  food  and  raiment,  but  also  that 
moral  culture,  that  religious  instruction,  which  will  fit  her  for  the 
duties  of  life,  and  prepare  her  for  the  awakening  solemnities  of 
death  and  judgment.  Here  she  will  find  those  who  will  supply  to 
her  the  place  of  parents,  and  present  to  her  objects  around  which 
her  young  affections  majT  twine,  and  be  trained  to  sentiments  of 
piety  and  virtue.  And  is  there  a  single  contributor  to  the  support 
of  this  institution,  but  must  feel  a  glow  of  gratification  in  contem- 
plating such  a  result  as  the  fruit  of  her  charity  ?  When  in  future 
years  she  shall  see  one  of  these  children  discharging  with  honor 
the  various  duties  of  life ;  the  centre  perhaps  of  the  best  and  most 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  191 

tender  affections  of  the  human  heart ;  illustrating  in  her  practice 
the  excellency  and  the  beauty  of  those  principles  which  have  been 
inculcated  under  this  humble  roof ;  contributing  to  the  happiness 
and  well-being  of  the  community ;  or  raised  by  the  providence  of 
God  to  the  highest  station  of  responsibility  which  wealth  or  other 
accidental  circumstances  can  impose,  and  still  sustaining,  with 
credit  and  fidelity,  the  multiplied  relations  that  rank  and  influence 
create,  —  can  she  feel  otherwise  than  thankful  to  God  for  the 
opportunity  thus  afforded  her,  of  employing  a  pittance  of  that 
abundance  which  His  goodness  has  given,  to  promote  His  honor 
and  glory,  and  add  to  the  well-being  and  felicity  of  His  creatures? 
Nor  are  the  effects  of  this  charity  limited,  as  I  have  already  inti- 
mated, to  this  world.  With  God's  blessing,  the  pious  instructions 
here  given,  the  religious  impressions  here  made,  may  shape  the 
future  destiny  of  these  children ;  may,  at  an  early  period  of  their 
history,  lead  their  thoughts  up  to  God ;  may  stamp  upon  their 
young  hearts  abiding  impressions  of  the  excellency  and  glory  of 
His  character;  and  through  successive  contemplations  of  His 
power,  goodness,  and  mercj',  kindle  a  flame  of  devotion  and  love 
that  can  never  be  extinguished.  What  Christian  but  must  desire 
and  pray  for  such  a  consummation  ?  Who  that  feels  bound  to  his 
race  by  the  sympathies  of  a  common  humanity,  but  must  be  willing 
to  aid  and  foster  an  institution  which  contemplates  such  results  ? 
And  yet  with  all  the  professed  Christianity  around  us,  and  with  all 
the  fellow-feeling  which  distinguishing  mercies  and  blessings,  one 
would  suppose,  would  keep  alive  and  in  active  exercise  among  this 
favored  people,  I  find,  from  the  last  report  of  this  institution,  that 
its  treasury  is  nearly  exhausted,  and  that  its  operations  are  crip- 
pled by  its  limited  means.  I  find  that  its  annual  income  from  all 
sources  is  scarcely  one-tenth  of  the  probable  amount  which  world- 
lings give  to  the  theatre  !  This  is  an  astounding  fact ;  its  annuncia- 
tion should  make  the  ears  of  the  community  tingle.  It  shows  that 
something  is  radically  wrong  in  practice,  if  not  in  principle,  among 
us.  It  demonstrates,  in  terms  that  supersede  argument,  the  ne- 
cessity of  deep  reflection,  of  serious  self-examination,  with  those 
who,  in  suffering  an  institution  of  the  noblest  charity  thus  to  lan- 
guish in  their  very  presence,  give  occasion  to  fix  upon  their  charac- 


192  Appendix. 

ter  the  charge  that  they  are  ' '  lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  the 
lovers  of  God." 

Surely  the  simple  statement  of  the  fact  adverted  to  is  sufficient, 
without  comment,  to  draw  forth  from  the  pious  and  benevolent 
such  efforts  as  to  do  away  at  once  and  forever  this  reproach.  I 
leave  it,  therefore,  before  you  in  its  naked  simplicity,  persuaded 
that  its  mention  needs  not  the  accompaniment  of  any  appeal  to 
either  the  sense  of  dut}T,  or  the  feelings  of  this  community. 

There  is  yet  another  aspect  under  which  I  wish  to  present  the 
claims  of  this  institution  to  }Tour  consideration.  It  is  that  your 
own  personal  interests  are,  in  a  measure,  identified  with  the  fos- 
tering of  this  charity.  Not  your  interests  in  a  worldly  point  of 
view,  —  though  even  these  might  be  named  as  furnishing  an  argu- 
ment, since  no  parent  knows  how  soon  his  children  may  be  left 
helpless  orphans,  —  but  I  speak  with  a  direct  reference  to  your 
spiritual  interests,  to  your  growth  in  grace.  It  is  the  command  of 
the  inspired  apostle,  to  add  to  your  faith,  virtue,  knowledge,  tem- 
perance, patience,  godliness,  brotherly  kindness,  and  charity.  In 
proportion  as  you  are  diligent  arid  faithful  in  the  obedience  which 
you  render  to  this  precept,  you  will  doubtless  grow  in  the  Divine 
life.  Now,  it  is  of  God's  providence,  that  you  have  opportunity 
to  exercise  any  of  these  Christian  graces  and  virtues.  If  the 
opportunity  were  not  vouchsafed  and  improved,  you  would  lack  so 
far  the  proper  evidence  of  your  Christian  character.  To  make  my 
meaning  clear :  if  you  had  no  occasion  ever  to  forgive  an  injury  or 
wrong,  you  could  not  know  certainly  that  you  possessed  the  grace 
of  meekness.  It  is  only  by  the  exercise  of  our  virtues,  that  we  can 
be  ascertained  of  their  existence.  And  thus,  if  the  providence  of 
God  did  not  throw  in  your  way  objects  on  which  to  exercise  your 
benevolence  and  charity,  you  could  not  know  that  you  had  charity 
at  all.  But  surely,  my  Christian  friends,  it  is  exceedingly  desira- 
ble to  3Tour  peace  and  comfort,  to  be  assured  that  you  stand  com- 
plete in  your  character  as  disciples  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus. 
For  upon  our  character,  as  ascertained  by  our  works,  depends  our 
approval  or  condemnation  in  the  great  day  of  eternity  (Matt.  xxv. 
34,  46).  Go  forward,  then,  in  your  work  and  labor  of  love,  ani- 
mated by  the  ever-glowing  conviction,  that  you  are  treading  the 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  193 

path  of  duty,  high  and  solemn  duty  to  God  and  man  !  encouraged 
by  the  assurance  that  the  blessings  of  those  ready  to  perish  will 
be  yours ;  that  the  testimon}^  of  an  approving  conscience  will  be 
3'ours  ;  that  the  peace  which  smooths  the  bed  of  death  will  be  yours  ; 
and  that  the  approval  of  your  heavenly  Master  and  Almighty  Judge 
will  be  yours,  when  an  assembled  universe  shall  stand  at  the  bar 
of  God. 


194  Appendix. 


THE  DUTY  OF  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  TO 
THEIR  PEOPLE,  CONSIDERED  IN  THEIR  CIVIL  RE- 
LATIONS.1 

My  Reverend  Brethren,  the  Clergy  of  this  Diocese :  —  The 
twenty-seventh  Canon  of  the  General  Convention  provides  that 
each  Bishop  of  the  Church  shall  deliver,  at  least  once  in  every 
three  years,  a  CHARGE  to  the  Clergy  of  his  Diocese.  The  object  of 
this  provision  is,  doubtless,  among  other  things,  to  assist  the  Min- 
istry in  the  discharge  of  their  very  responsible  duties,  by  pointing 
out  the  difficulties  incident  to  their  station,  suggesting  such  rem- 
edies as  have  approved  themselves  to  reflection  and  experience  as 
adequate  to  their  removal,  and  holding  out  encouragement  to  the 
faithful  and  zealous  discharge  of  the  solemnly  undertaken  obliga- 
tions of  the  clerical  office.  These  subjects  have  been  made  the 
topics  of  remark,  in  some  measure,  heretofore,  in  my  Annual 
Addresses  to  the  Conventions  ;  and  it  is  considered  that  the  spirit 
of  the  Canons  has  been  met  in  this  way,  although  my  observations 
made  on  such  occasions  have  not  assumed  the  formality  and  shape 
of  a  CHARGE. 

The  office  of  a  Bishop,  calling  for  a  more  extended  view  of  the 
interests  of  our  communion  than  pertains  to  the  charge  of  a  single 
Parish,  and  leading  naturally  to  a  comparison  of  the  efficacy  of 
the  measures  pursued  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  under 
varied  circumstances,  for  the  promotion  of  a  common  object, 
enables  that  officer  to  make  suggestions,  which  in  practice  are 
most  frequently  found  to  be  highly  beneficial  to  both  Ministers  and 
people,  and  productive  of  happy  effects  by  tending  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  one  class,  and  to  encourage  the  hearts  of  the 
other.  The  opportunities  which  the  Bishop  enjoys  from  time  to 

1  Set  forth  in  a  Primary  Charge  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Ten- 
nessee. Delivered  in  Christ  Church,  in  the  City  of  Nashville,  during  the 
session  of  the  Convention,  on  Thursday,  Oct.  11,  1837. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  195 

time  for  making  a  personal  examination  into  the  condition  of  each 
Parish,  conjoined  with  the  thoughtful  and  prayerful  consideration 
which  he  is  bound  to  bring  to  bear  upon  the  interests  of  the  whole 
Diocese,  assist  him  to  discover  the  dangers  of  his  charge,  and  to 
adopt  measures  to  meet  them,  or  suggest  plans  for  their  avoid- 
ance. As  the  constituted  temporal  head  of  the  famity,  he  is 
bound,  in  providing  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  to  be  watchful 
that  no  individual  member  thereof  shall  suffer  from  want  of  care 
or  attention. 

In  all  the  various  arrangements  of  civilized  and  Christianized 
society  formed  for  general  purposes,  there  is  not  perhaps  a  more 
interesting  relation  than  that  which  the  Church  has  established 
between  a  Bishop  and  his  Diocese.  This  relationship  gathers  its 
importance  from  the  nature  and  value  of  the  interests  comprised 
in  its  formation ;  while  the  connection  itself,  in  its  points  of  re- 
semblance to  paternal  superintendence,  is  associated  in  thought 
and  contemplation  with  the  kindest  and  purest  affections  of  our 
nature.  As  a  father  feels  for  his  children,  and  with  tender  soli- 
citude watches  over  their  well-being,  so  should  a  Bishop  feel  and 
act  towards  his  brethren  in  the  Ministry,  to  whom  the  Lord  hath 
made  him  chief  servant  in  the  Church.  As  children  should  recip- 
rocate the  watchful  care  and  supervision  of  a  parent,  by  dutiful 
respect  and  filial  obedience,  so  should  "  Sons  in  the  Gospel "  show 
respectful  regard  to  that  office,  and  just  and  ready  submission  to 
that  authority  which  themselves  have  voluntarily  agreed  to  receive 
and  acknowledge  in  the  Church.  It  is  under  this  aspect  that  I 
love  to  contemplate  that  office  and  its  relations,  the  burthen  of 
which,  in  the  providence  of  God,  has  been  laid  upon  me  ;  and  it 
is  with  the  feelings  which  such  a  view  of  its  character  and  respon- 
sibilities naturally  inspires,  not  unaccompanied  with  a  deep  sense 
of  weakness  felt  and  freely  acknowledged  in  the  attempted  dis- 
charge of  its  duties  hitherto,  that  I  now  proceed  to  deliver  my 
first  CHARGE  to  the  assembled  Clergy  of  this  Diocese. 

So  much  has  been  written  and  published,  my  brethren,  upon 
the  duties  of  the  clerical  office,  that  it  seems  difficult  to  select  any 
topic,  falling  properly  within  purview  of  my  present  business, 
upon  which  you  have  not  been  already  furnished  with  ample  dis- 


196  Appendix. 

cussion.  The  ground  of  remark  is  still  further  narrowed  by  the 
very  liberal  provision  which  the  Church  has  made  in  her  formula- 
ries of  public  worship  and  their  accompanying  rubrics,  to  serve  as 
a  directory  and  guide  to  every  Clerg}Tman  in  conducting  the  pub- 
lic devotions  of  the  congregation,  in  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  and  in  the  performance  of  other  holy  offices  of  reli- 
gion, which  sickness  and  other  adventitious  circumstances  may 
sometimes  require  to  be  more  private.  The  obligation  to  comply 
with  the  directions  which  the  Church  in  her  wisdom  has  prescribed 
in  all  these  cases,  is  so  plain  and  obvious,  that  it  would  appear 
almost  superfluous  to  use  argument  or  exhortation  in  the  premises. 
It  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that  any  Clergyman  can  be  so  forget- 
ful of  the  solemnity  and  binding  force  of  his  ordination  vows,  as 
to  use  any  other  forms  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  as  a 
Minister  of  the  Gospel,  than  those  which  the  authority  of  the 
Church  has  appointed  and  established.  He  who  can  so  forget  him- 
self is  beyond  the  reach  of  argument  or  exhortation.  All  consid- 
erations grounded  upon  the  recorded  results  of  sober  experience, 
or  drawn  from  the  propriety  of  uniform  practice  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  same  "  household  of  faith,"  united  in  the  same  bonds 
of  fellowship,  and  cherishing  a  common  hope  through  the  same 
Lord,  are  lost  upon  him  who  will  venture  for  the  sake  of  the  sup- 
posed expediency,  or  in  the  spirit  of  compromise,  to  set  at  naught 
the  authority  of  the  Church,  and  trample  upon  her  regulations. 
By  dishonoring  the  Liturgy,  in  the  substitution  of  his  own  extem- 
poraneous effusions,  he  virtual!}7  arrogates  to  himself  a  wisdom 
which  claims  submission  from  the  united  wisdom  of  the  Church. 
For,  let  it  be  remembered  that  our  public  formularies  of  worship, 
administration  of  the  sacraments,  and  other  holy  offices  of  reli- 
gion, have  received  the  sanction  of  the  assembled  wisdom  and 
piety  of  the  Church,  and  are  vested  with  all  the  authority  which 
legislative  enactment  can  throw  around  them.  It  should  never  be 
forgotten  by  us,  my  brethren,  that  a  minister  of  religion  is  the 
accredited  agent  of  the  Church,  appointed  for  the  performance  of 
duties  specified  in  the  forms  of  his  ordination,  mediately  respon- 
sible to  the  body  which  clothes  him  with  authority  to  act,  and  ulti- 
mately amenable  to  the  Lord  of  Heaven  for  his  actions,  and  the 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  197 

manner  of  their  performance.  His  position  is  therefore  analogous 
to  that  of  a  public  officer  of  the  civil  government.  And  as,  in 
this  case,  the  authorized  agent  of  the  public  is  bound  to  act  ac- 
cording to  his  instructions,  and  after  prescribed  forms  ;  so,  in  the 
case  of  a  Minister  of  the  Church,  he  is  under  as  solemn  obliga- 
tions as  man  can  realize,  in  official  investiture  with  authority,  to 
act  agreeably  to  the  directions  which  he  received  and  promised 
to  follow  when  he  was  commissioned. 

The  principle  involved  in  the  issue  to  be  made  up  on  this  point 
is  far  more  important  in  its  practical  uses,  and  far  more  extensive 
in  its  connections,  than  is  apparent  to  slight  or  partial  reflection. 
It  is  intimately  associated  with  what  I  design  to  be  the  chief  sub- 
ject of  this  address  ;  namely,  the  duty  of  Ministers  of  the  Gospel 
to  their  people,  considered  in  their  civil  relations;  and  if  I  can 
succeed  in  presenting  it  to  your  minds  in  such  a  shape  and  in  such 
a  light  as  to  gain  for  it  that  consideration,  which,  in  the  deliberate 
conviction  of  my  own  judgment,  its  intrinsic  importance  merits,  I 
think  I  shall  have  pointed  out  to  you  one  of  the  chief  obstacles 
which,  in  this  country,  oppose  the  prevalence  of  religion,  and 
operate  as  a  mighty  hindrance  to  our  efforts  to  promote  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  our  fellow-men.  To  arrive  at  a  proper  under- 
standing of  the  reasons  of  that  indifference  to  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  grounds  of  that  indirect  opposition  which  we  not 
unfrequently  experience  in  our  efforts  to  bring  people  under  the 
influence  of  Christian  principles,  we  must  look  a  little  into  the  char- 
acter of  our  civil  institutions,  and  especially  at  the  circumstances 
of  our  population  in  the  actual  means  and  opportunities  presented 
for  moral  and  intellectual  culture.  These  things  unquestionably 
give  an  impress  and  a  shape  to  the  character  of  a  people.  The 
institutions  of  a  country,  and  the  manners  of  its  inhabitants,  the 
true  index  of  their  principles,  certainly  exercise  a  reflex  influence, 
one  upon  the  other.  If  improvement  in  all  that  tends  to  the 
melioration  and  exaltation  of  man's  character  as  a  rational  and 
accountable  creature  be  not  on  the  advance,  we  may  be  certain 
that  the  virtues  of  society  are  in  progress  towards  decay,  and  that 
civil  institutions  partake  of  the  deterioration.  In  this  respect  a 
community  cannot  remain  stationary.  Unequal  and  unjust  laws, 


198  Appendix. 

or  the  irregular  and  oppressive  execution  of  good  laws,  naturally 
tend  to  corruption  of  morals  ;  while  corruption  of  morals  intro- 
duces inevitabty  every  evil  work  in  the  administration  of  govern- 
ment. It  therefore  becomes  a  subject  of  momentous  interest,  to 
inquire  how  far  the  prevalence  of  virtuous  morals  is  connected  with 
a  sound  state  of  the  body  politic,  and  how  far  virtuous  and  pure 
morality  is  dependent  upon  a  proper  understanding  and  practice  of 
the  duties  of  Christianity.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  good  govern- 
ment—  b}T  which  I  mean  wholesome,  equal,  and  just  laws,  faith- 
fully, vigorously,  and  wisely  administered  —  and  healthy  morals 
and  sound  religion  are  intimately  associated,  and  in  fact  insepar- 
ably in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  then  we  shall  succeed  in 
removing  a  prejudice  exceedingly  common,  I  fear,  in  this  country ; 
viz.,  that  the  recognition  of  religious  obligation  in  the  conduct  has 
nothing  to  do  with  securing  the  safety  of  civil  liberty ;  and  we 
shall,  instead  of  having  this  unreasonable  prejudice  to  encounter, 
excite  in  every  man's  bosom  a  personal  interest  in  behalf  of  Chris- 
tian principles  and  practice.  I  say  a  personal  interest ;  because 
every  citizen  of  this  government  feels  that  he  has  a  direct  concern 
in  the  institutions  of  the  county,  and  that  their  preservation  in 
their  integritj'  and  purity  depends,  to  the  full  measure  of  his 
influence,  upon  his  conduct.  The  great  fabric  of  our  liberties  is 
based  upon  the  will  of  the  people :  its  supports  are  universally  held 
to  be  virtue  and  intelligence.  Individual  influence,  therefore,  is  not 
to  be  estimated  by  the  zeal  with  which  the  measures  of  a  party  are 
prosecuted,  but  by  uprightness,  honesty,  and  propriety  of  behavior, 
in  all  the  relations  of  life.  The  moment  that  spirit  is  excited  and 
called  into  action  which  triumphs  in  the  issue  of  a  political  con- 
test, or  which  exults  in  creating  embarrassment  to  those  in  the 
ascendant,  the  same  moment  is  taken  away  one  of  the  main  pillars 
which  give  stability  to  free  government.  Whenever  the  affairs  of 
a  people  have  reached  such  a  crisis,  the  history  of  nations  proves 
that  the  sacrifice  of  liberty  soon  follows  to  consummate  their 
ruin. 

The  structure  of  our  government  is  peculiar  in  this,  that  it 
makes  no  provision  by  law  for  the  support  of  religion.  It  was 
doubtless  wise  in  our  forefathers  to  dissever  the  unnatural  bond 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  199 

between  Church  and  State,  —  to  dissolve  a  connection  which 
tended  to  degrade  the  former,  and  encumber  the  latter.  All  other 
nations  have  laid  religion  at  the  basis  of  their  civil  institutions, 
and,  by  legislative  enactments,  incorporated  it  with  their  laws. 
The  framers  of  our  Constitution  did  not,  because  they  would  have 
found  it  impossible  to  reconcile  the  different  interests  and  to  adjust 
the  conflicting  claims  of  various  denominations  of  the  Christian 
name ;  because  they  believed  it  to  be  wrong  in  principle,  and 
injurious  to  piety  in  practice ;  and  especially  because  they  were 
persuaded  that  Christian^  was  most  successful  and  most  pros- 
perous when  it  received  protection  only  from  the  secular  arm,  and 
was  left  to  the  fostering  care  of  Heaven.  But,  because  this  was 
done,  many  have  taken  up  the  erroneous  and  monstrous  idea,  that 
Christianity  was  virtually  proscribed  as  a  dangerous  thing  by  those 
venerable  men  of  the  Revolution,  who  achieved  our  independence, 
and  framed  for  us  our  present  Constitution.  And  it  is  lamentable 
to  think  that  men  of  name  and  character  in  this  nation,  and  in 
our  own  State,  have  given  sanction  to  this  ruinous  delusion,  — 
delusion,  I  say,  destructive  to  man's  best  interests  in  his  social 
relations,  and  blighting  to  the  fairest  and  brightest  hopes  of  the 
future.  Our  forefathers  were  men  of  too  much  wisdom,  and  of  too 
much  piety,  ever  to  have  entertained  any  such  idea.  It  is  a  libel 
upon  their  character  to  say  they  did.  Instead  of  cherishing  any 
unfriendly  feeling  against  religion,  instead  of  meaning  to  proscribe 
it,  they  intended  to  show  their  estimation  of  its  worth  by  leaving 
it  untouched  and  untrammelled  with  the  people,  the  source  of  all 
legitimate  authority  and  power  in  the  nation :  they  took  it  for 
granted,  that  its  worth  would  never  be  questioned  by  posterity. 
It  had  given  decisive  evidence  of  its  value  in  the  perilous  hour  of 
conflict ;  and  they  never  contemplated  a  period  in  the  future  his- 
tory of  the  Republic  which  they  had  founded,  when  religion  would 
not  be  felt  in  its  sacred  influence  throughout  all  our  borders. 
They  expected  that  temples  for  the  worship  of  the  living  God 
would  crown  all  our  hills,  and  adorn  all  our  towns  and  cities,  and 
the  song  of  praise  be  raised  from  all  our  valleys.  That  their 
anticipations  have  not  yet  been  realized,  is  owing  at  least  in  part 
to  the  fact  that  infidel  principles  have  been  transplanted  into  this 


200  Appendix. 

land  of  freedom,  and  taken  root  in  a  soil  watered  by  the  tears 
and  enriched  by  the  blood  of  some  of  the  purest  patriots  that  ever 
contended  for  liberty,  of  some  of  the  most  pious  men  that  ever 
bowed  the  knee  "at  the  name  of  Jesus."  To  prove  that  I  am 
drawing  no  fanciful  picture  of  the  real  sentiments  which  animated 
the  breasts  of  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution,  I  need  only  refer  to 
the  man}T  resolutions  of  the  Continental  Congress,  recommending 
days  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer  to  God  for  his  protection 
and  care  over  the  struggling  Colonies.  I  need  only  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  days  of  thanksgiving  were  set  apart  by  the  same 
authority,  and  by  General  Washington  in  his  general  orders,  call- 
ing upon  the  people  and  the  army  to  give  a  public  expression  of 
gratitude  to  God  for  victory  achieved  by  our  arms.  Resolutions 
of  the  kind  referred  to  are  found  spread  upon  the  journals  of 
Congress,  recording  its  proceedings  through  each  year,  from  the 
12th  June,  1775,  to  the  18th  October,  1783.  And  is  it  to  be  sup- 
posed that  the  men  who  by  public  and  solemn  acts  thus  distinctly 
recognized  the  value  of  Christian  principles  and  the  obligation  of 
Christian  duty,  did  afterwards,  in  giving  a  Constitution  to  their 
countrymen  and  to  their  children,  for  whose  freedom  they  toiled 
and  fought  and  suffered  for  eight  years,  actually  mean  to  set  a 
brand  upon  religion  as  a  dangerous  thing?  The  fact  is  as  desti- 
tute of  proof  as  it  is  dishonorable  in  imputation.  By  an  appeal  tc 
the  public  and  recorded  acts  of  the  men  whose  memory  is  most 
fondly  cherished  by  Americans,  we  sweep  away  at  once  the  im- 
pression that  infidelity  desires  to  make  upon  the  public  mind,  that 
Christianity  is  of  no  worth  to  us  as  a  people,  and  that  it  deserves 
neither  their  favorable  regard  nor  their  patronage. 

It  must,  however,  be  conceded,  —  and  painful  indeed  is  the 
truth  that  calls  for  the  concession, — that  in  our  day  the  conduct 
and  avowedly  infidel  character  of  many  of  our  public  men  go  ver}r 
far  towards  giving  encouragement  to  the  notion  that  Christianity  is 
in  no  way  necessary  to  national  prosperity  and  happiness.  To  be 
known  as  a  Christian,  is  coming  fast  to  be  considered  as  a  positive 
disadvantage  to  him  who  aspires  after  popular  favor.  Not  that  we 
have  become  yet  so  corrupt  as  to  consider  a  candidate  for  political 
power  less  trustworthy  because  he  is  a  Christian  ;  but  his  profession 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  201 

of  that  name  operates  to  his  prejudice,  because  he  cannot  consis- 
tently practise  the  arts  which  party  organization  has  introduced  as 
necessary  instruments  of  success.  And  herein  we  see  the  work- 
ings of  a  wide-spread  delusion  that  is  sapping  silently  the  very 
foundations  of  public  virtue ;  namel}',  that  the  same  act  per- 
formed by  a  Christian,  and  by  one  who  makes  no  pretensions  to 
that  name,  is  criminal  in  the  former  and  innocent  in  the  latter. 
Thus  the  distinctions  between  right  and  wrong,  laid  in  the  princi- 
ples of  eternal  truth  and  justice,  are  confounded,  and  made  to  de- 
pend upon  the  ever-varying  standard  of  man's  professed  character. 
That  which  is  wrong  cannot  be  innocently  done  by  an}r  accountable 
creature ;  and  invincible  ignorance  can  alone  serve  to  palliate,  not 
excuse  it.  Inattention  to  this  principle,  even  by  those  who  are 
bound  by  their  profession  to  recognize  its  obligation  in  practice, 
has  contributed  much  to  give  the  complexion  of  infidelity  to  our 
national  character.  Duelling,  Sabbath-breaking,  profanity,  drunk- 
enness, and  other  immoralities  over  the  name  of  which  modesty 
draws  a  veil,  are  not  ordinarily  considered  as  disqualifications,  in 
public  estimation,  for  the  highest  offices  of  honor  and  trust  in  the 
gift  of  a  free  people.  In  consequence  hereof,  very  few  of  those 
who  figure  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  or  sit  in  high  stations  of  offi- 
cial trust,  manifest  by  their  practice  that  they  count  the  religion  of 
Christ  as  of  any  worth.  If  the  mischief  ended  with  themselves, 
it  would  be  more  endurable  ;  but  the  pernicious  influence  of  their 
example  descends  upon  those  through  whose  favor  they  reach  that 
elevation  which  gives  them  consequence.  We  know  that  the  vast 
majority  of  mankind  are  swayed  by  the  example  of  those  around 
them,  who  are  looked  up  to  with  deference  on  account  of  their 
talents,  or  other  circumstances  which  give  them  power  and  weight 
of  character  in  the  community.  And  in  this  way,  the  men  of  note 
among  us  are  inconsiderately,  as  we  are  in  charity  bound  to  sup- 
pose, aiming  a  mortal  stab  at  the  very  heart  of  civil  and  religious 
freedom.  The  conservative  principles  of  our  institutions  are  over- 
looked by  them  in  their  struggle  for  power.  These  principles  — 
we  cannot  too  often  repeat  it — are  intelligence  and  virtue,  regu- 
lated by  the  precepts  of  Christianity.  If  they  are  practically  dis- 
regarded in  one  case,  what  surety  have  we  that  they  will  not  be  in 


202  Appendix. 

every  instance  in  which  there  is  a  sufficient  motive  or  temptation 
to  do  it?  In  a  country  where  the  people  themselves  are  the 
acknowledged  source  of  all  legitimate  power,  they  must  be  in- 
formed in  order  to  the  salutary  exercise  of  that  power.  For  this 
information,  the  majorit}^  of  men  rety  upon  the  statements  of  their 
public  servants,  upon  the  accounts  which  they  give  of  their  own 
conduct  and  of  the  public  affairs.  Under  this  aspect,  public  office 
assumes  a  degree  of  tremendous  responsibility,  and  as  such  should 
be  received  with  modesty  and  diffidence,  rather  than  sought  after 
with  eagerness,  by  persons  duly  sensible  of  its  importance  and 
difficult}7.  If  it  were  uniformly  conferred  upon  men  fully  alive  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  interests  confided  to  their  management,  the 
people  would  have  some  guaranty  for  being  correctly  informed  and 
advised  in  regard  to  their  interests.  But  it  will  never  be  so  con- 
ferred under  a  party  organization  in  which  personal  elevation,  and 
not  the  public  weal,  is  the  great  object  contemplated.  The  elec- 
tive franchise  is  then  prostituted  to  the  most  unworthy  purposes  ; 
and  success  in  political  life  made  dependent  upon  misleading  the 
people,  and  giving  false  representations  of  the  objects  of  parties 
and  of  the  measures  of  government.  In  consequence  hereof,  men 
of  abandoned  character,  and  whose  private  life  is  stained  by  the 
commission  of  the  grossest  enormities,  are  sometimes  elevated  to 
stations  of  the  highest  dignity  and  trust.  The  question  naturally 
arises,  Why  are  these  things  so  ?  The  answer  is  to  be  found  in 
the  fact,  that  the  opinion  is  extensively  current,  that  the  princi- 
ples of  Christianity  are  designed  to  exercise  some  control  over  the 
thoughts  and  conduct  of  man  in  the  more  private  relations  of  life, 
but  that  all  its  influences  are  to  be  carefull}7  shut  out  when  he 
comes  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  a  citizen  of  the  commonwealth. 
The  Constitution  has  said  nothing  about  religion,  except  that  none 
shall  ever  be  established  by  law  ;  and  therefore  a  man  inaj'  act  on 
an  election-day  as  if  there  were  no  God,  and  no  accountability  to 
law  human  or  divine  ;  and  therefore,  canning  out  the  inferences 
following  from  the  premises  taken,  no  oath  ought  to  be  adminis- 
tered in  courts  of  justice,  and  no  man  punished  for  perjury.  It  is 
a  trite  sa}'ing,  that  the  best  of  Heaven's  gifts  are  most  liable  to 
injury  and  abuse  when  brought  into  contact  with  the  corrupt  touch 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  203 

of  man's  mortality.  Such  experience  has  shown  to  be  the  case 
with  Christianity,  Heaven's  best  gift  to  man.  Such,  many  and  by 
no  means  dubious  indications  lead  us  to  fear,  will  prove  to  be  the 
result  in  regard  to  that  next  to  the  most  inestimable  boon  of  God 
to  man,  — civil  libertj*. 

So  entirely  has  religion  become  disassociated  in  thought  and 
practice  from  the  every-day  practice  of  life;  that  many,  very  many 
4 'who  name  the  name  of  Christ,"  allow  themselves  in  practices 
utterly  repugnant  to  the  precepts  and  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  They, 
for  example,  deem  it  no  violation  of  Christian  duty  or  obligation, 
to  vilify  and  abuse  political  opponents,  and  to  join  in  all  the  crimi- 
nation and  vituperation  which  the  newspapers  of  the  da}7  are  dis- 
gorging upon  society  in  every  quarter  of  the  country.  Men  of  all 
parties  are  engaged  in  this  work  of  defamation.  The  obligations 
which  a  Christian  profession  imposes  are  thus  practically  dissevered 
from  the  duties  of  a  citizen  ;  and  that  which  the  Gospel  pointedly 
condemns  becomes,  through  corruption  of  moral  sentiment,  allow- 
able in  a  partisan,  because  it  is  consecrated  as  a  maxim  of  political 
wisdom.  Licentiousness  thus  becomes  the  unnatural  offspring  of 
that  freedom  which  is  claimed  in  the  charter  of  our  liberties  as 
God's  gift  and  man's  inalienable  right.  Religion  is  the  fountain 
which  feeds  the  stream  of  public  morals  ;  and  if  the  fountain  be 
impure,  or  cease  to  send  forth  its  waters,  or  if  they  be  diverted 
from  their  proper  channels,  moral  disease  and  infection  spread 
around,  and  cast  the  pall  of  death  over  all  the  public  and  private 
relations  of  life.  It  is  under  this  view  that  I  deem  it  especially  the 
duty  of  the  Clerg}?  to  inculcate  the  binding  force  of  Christian  obli- 
gation upon  the  people  of  their  charge,  in  the  connection  which 
their  profession  as  Christians  has  with  their  personal  deportment 
and  conduct  as  citizens  ;  and  to  show  to  all  men,  as  occasion  may 
serve,  that  Christianity  understood  in  its  integrity,  and  practised 
in  its  simplicit}',  is  the  surest,  safest,  and  firmest  support  to  good 
and  free  government  righteously  administered,  —  the  best  friend 
to  the  happiness  of  man  in  all  the  circumstances  of  life. 

You  will  not  understand,  my  brethren,  from  this  course  of 
remark,  that  I  am  recommending  to  any  clergyman  to  become  a 
political  preacher,  a  political  talker,  or  a  political  partisan,  in  word 


204:  Appendix. 

or  deed.  Very  far  am  I  from  intimating  any  such  thing.  The 
ninth  article  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  comes 
in  aid  of  our  own  ecclesiastical  regulations  which  bear  upon  this 
point.  It  sets  forth  that  "  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  by  their 
profession  dedicated  to  God  and  the  care  of  souls,  and  ought  not 
to  be  diverted  from  the  great  duties  of  their  functions."  This  is 
enough  to  rebuke  clerical  ambition,  and  to  check  the  desire  to  figure 
in  the  arena  of  politics.  That  Clergyman  deserves  the  reprobation 
of  his  fellow-men,  and  incurs  the  displeasure  of  Heaven,  who  aban- 
dons or  neglects  the  discharge  of  his  high  and  holy  duties  as  a 
Minister  of  Christ,  and  descends  from  the  lofty  eminence  of  his 
received  and  accredited  character,  to  enter  into  the  angry  discus- 
sion or  contemptible  twattle  of  party  politics.  I  have  a  widely 
different  apprehension  of  your  duties  and  obligations.  I  would 
have  you  to  instruct  the  people  whom  you  serve,  that  they  cannot, 
consistently  with  their  profession,  follow  the  practices  and  adopt 
the  maxims  so  current  in  this  age,  which  lead  men  to  believe  that 
they  may  claim  the  privileges  and  cherish  the  hope  of  Christians 
when  they  are  not  acting  as  Christians  ;  to  point  out  to  them  the 
enlarged  view  which  the  Gospel  takes  of  their  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities in  every  relation  of  life,  and  that  its  claims  of  obedience  to 
its  precepts  are  paramount  to  every  worldly  interest.  And  partic- 
ularly, brethren,  are  you,  like  our  Divine  Master,  to  set  an  example 
in  your  own  personal  deportment,  of  the  things  which  you  thus 
recommend.  Precept,  when  not  so  enforced  and  illustrated,  is 
worse  than  useless ;  for  it  draws  odium  and  contempt  upon  him 
who  presumes  to  instruct  others,  but  shows  that  he  will  not  be 
instructed  himself. 

In  the  absence  of  all  provision  on  the  part  of  the  government 
for  the  instruction  of  the  people  in  the  principles  of  public  virtue, 
we  ask,  where  are  they  to  look  for  that  instruction,  except  to  the 
pulpit?  From  the  newspaper  press  they  cannot  expect  to  derive 
it,  though  admirably  adapted  to  that  end  ;  since  the  press,  gener- 
ally under  the  influence  of  party  organization,  and  subservient  to 
party  purposes,  has  become  the  chief  instrument  in  promoting 
licentiousness.  Interest  is  found  to  be  more  powerful  in  its  influ- 
ence than  principle,  and  hence  the  press  is  too  often  seen  catering 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  205 

for  the  public  appetite.  This  appetite  must  be  corrected  before 
the  press  can  be  reformed.  Our  seminaries  of  learning  undoubt- 
edly do  much  in  the  formation  of  good  moral  character  among  the 
youth  of  the  country.  But  the  class  which  it  is  important  to  affect 
is  beyond  the  reach  of  this  influence  :  they  are  already  men  grown, 
and  acting  in  the  responsible  stations  of  citizens  and  heads  of 
families.  To  the  pulpit,  then,  are  we  to  look  almost  exclusively 
for  the  inculcation  of  that  sound  moral  sentiment,  founded  on  re- 
ligious pnnciple,  which  supports  the  great  social  edifice  of  our 
country. 

The  past  and  present  circumstances  of  the  people  have  tended 
in  a  very  remarkable  manner  to  weaken  and  abridge  the  influence 
of  moral  obligation  among  us.  The  extent  of  our  territory,  and 
the  variety  of  our  resources,  all  inviting  to  enterprise  and  activity 
in  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  have,  in  their  practical  effects,  made 
mighty  inroads  upon  good  morals.  It  is  under  the  influence  of 
parental  teaching  and  example,  and  in  the  virtuous  associations  of 
early  life,  formed  in  the  neighborhoods  where  we  were  born,  reared, 
and  educated,  that  the  elements  of  a  good  character  are  ordinarily 
laid,  strengthened,  and  established.  The  fact  of  being  known  in 
a  community  thus  operates  as  a  restraint  against  immoral  or  irre- 
ligious conduct.  The  man  is  led  to  remonstrate  with  himself  on 
the  eve  of  performing  an  improper  act,  and  to  ask,  How  can  I  do 
this  thing,  and  shame  my  friends  arid  acquaintances  ?  But  in  exten- 
sive portions  of  our  country,  the  people  are  comparatively  strangers 
to  each  other.  The. ties  which  bound  them  to  their  parental  domi- 
cile, and  all  the  associations  of  their  young  days,  are  broken  up ; 
and  thousands  find  themselves  in  a  land  of  strangers  with  whom 
they  have  little  sympathy  in  feelings  and  habits,  and  whose  pres- 
ence imposes  scarcely  any  restraint  upon  their  actions.  They  are 
here  to-day,  and  gone  to-morrow,  and  care  not  what  estimate  is 
formed  of  their  character  by  those  among  whom  they  have  tempo- 
rarily sojourned.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  it  must  be  obvious  to 
reflection,  how  very  important  is  the  aid  which  the  pulpit  brings 
forward  to  promote  the  well-being  of  society.  In  that  solemn  and 
fearful  accountability  of  man  to  God,  to  be  realized  at  all  times  and 
in  all  places,  and  set  forth  and  faithfully  declared  by  the  Minister 


206  Appendix. 

of  religion,  a  restraining  and  controlling  influence  is  obtained  and 
acknowledged,  which  otherwise  would  be  unthought  of  and  unfelt. 
Nor  is  this  influence  limited  to  the  single  case  adduced.  It  is 
felt  measurably  through  all  the  ramifications  of  society,  where 
the  truth  of  God's  Word  is  plain!}7  and  faithfully  preached.  In  the 
constant  occupation  which  most  heads  of  families  find,  stimulated 
as  they  are  by  having  placed  before  them  fair  opportunities  to 
amass  riches,  they  have  little  leisure,  at  least  they  employ  but  a 
small  portion  of  their  time  in  the  moral  culture  of  their  children. 
The  rising  generations  are  consequently  coming  forward  to  engage 
in  the  business  of  life,  uninstructed  in  the  nature  of  their  duties, 
and  uninformed  as  to  their  responsibilities.  In  a  vast  majority  of 
instances,  the  young  who  are  just  rising  into  manhood  are  totally 
ignorant  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  obligations  as  moral 
and  accountable  beings.  They  can  give  shrewd  and  intelligent 
answers  to  all  questions  concerning  traffic  and  trade,  and  the  value 
of  various  kinds  of  property ;  but  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of 
those  obligations  by  which  man  is  bound  to  "do  justly,  love 
mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  God,"  they  have  been  taught  noth- 
ing, the}*  know  nothing,  and  oftentimes  care  nothing.  The  ex- 
ample of  their  parents  has  led  them  to  regard  monej7  as  "the 
chief  good  ; "  and  in  its  acquisition  all  advantages  are  to  be 
taken  which  the  law  will  allow,  or  which  artful  evasions  of  the  law 
will  enable  them  to  compass.  The  social  affections  are  swept 
away  in  this  struggle  for  gain  ;  there  is  no  place  for  their  exer- 
cise :  and  the  kindly  offices  of  charity  and  benevolence  are  un- 
known. The  children  of  the  country  are  thus  in  a  measure 
trained  up  with  feelings  almost  hostile  to  their  species.  The  idea 
they  have  of  public  liberty  is,  that  they  may  do  as  they  please, 
regardless  of  the  comfort  and  even  the  rights  of  others.1  Rever- 
ence for  age  and  character  is  unfelt,  s}Tmpathy  for  suffering  and 

1  The  following  relation  furnishes  no  inapt  illustration  of  the  concep- 
tions which  many  entertain  of  the  rights  of  freemen.  The  writer  hereof, 
with  two  gentlemen  on  board  of  a  steamboat,  were  sitting  quietly,  last  win- 
ter, reading  by  the  light  of  a  candle  placed  on  one  of  the  small  tables 
which  usually  occupy  the  corners  of  the  cabin  near  the  stove.  Four  per- 
sons came  up,  and  by  their  spokesman  said  they  wanted  the  table.  "  For 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  207 

distress  is  destroyed,  and  respect  for  law  and  authority  despised 
as  meanness.  Effrontery  is  taken  for  manliness,  rudeness  for  gen- 
tilit}',  and  impudence  for  easiness  of  manners.  Is  it  any  wonder, 
that,  under  this  hardening  process,  future  heroes  in  crime  are 
formed,  and  that  we  hear  and  read  of  deeds  of  daring  villany  and 
desperate  wickedness?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  an  awful  reckless- 
ness and  disregard  of  human  life  should  be  exhibited,  that  law 
should  be  violated,  and  authority  trampled  under  foot?  The  his- 
tory of  the  present  year  has  presented  to  us  dreadful  catastrophes, 
portraying  in  the  loss  of  human  life  incidents  of  thrilling  horror.1 
It  is  the  natural  consequence  which  follows  upon  the  want  of  a 
just  sense  of  responsibility  grounded  upon  moral  obligation. 

It  would  seem,  then,  from  the  view  which  has  been  presented, 
that  Ministers  of  religion  occupy  a  position  of  immense  impor- 
tance, considered  in  reference  to  the  prime  interests  of  society. 
It  is  their  duty  to  teach  their  congregations  that  Christianity  binds 
those  who  acknowledge  its  authority  and  profess  its  principles,  to 
be  strictly  obedient  to  the  laws  in  their  letter  and  manifest  inten- 
tion ;  that  civil  and  religious  liberty,  with  all  its  attendant  bless- 
ings, is  a  talent  for  the  use  of  which  they  must  give  account  to 
God,  the  Judge  of  all.  It  is  their  duty  to  show  men  that  the 
Gospel  does  not  allow  them  to  take  advantage  of  the  necessities  of 
their  fellow-men,  but  obliges  them  to  works  of  kindness  and  char- 
ity;  that  industry,  prudence,  and  economy  are  the  means  which 
God  has  appointed  for  the  attainment  of  the  good  things  of  this 
life  ;  that  their  acquisition  by  other  methods  is  contrary  to  the 
order  of  Providence,  and  results  necessarily  in  injury  to  some  other 
portion  of  the  great  family  of  man ;  that,  consequently,  all  arts  to 
overreach  or  circumvent  others,  no  matter  for  what  object,  either 
in  the  private  or  public  relations  of  a  citizen,  are  wrong,  and  are 
positively  forbidden  by  Christ ;  that  evil  speaking  and  defamation 

what?"  it  was  asked.  "To  play  whist!"  —  "But,  gentlemen,  we  are 
using  it  ourselves :  we  are  reading."  —  "  It  is  a  card-table,"  said  they:  "  you 
can  sit  farther  off  and  read ;  and  there  are  four  of  us  to  you  three,  and  we 
must  have  it."  The  right  implied  in  the  appeal  made  to  numbers  settled 
the  question:  the  table  was  yielded. 

1  The  burning  of  the  Ben  Sherrod  furnishes  examples  enough. 


208  Appendix. 

are  no  less  prohibited  than  falsehood  itself;  and  that  mildness  and 
gentleness  in  deportment  are  due  to  the  persons  of  all  men.  It  is 
their  duty  to  instruct  parents  to  exercise  a  watchful  guardianship 
over  their  children ;  that  the}7  impress  upon  the  minds  of  their 
offspring  in  every  possible  way  the  concerning  truth,  that  God  is 
both  the  witness  and  the  judge  of  their  conduct  and  their  motives  ; 
that  they  teach  them  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  responsibili- 
ties as  members  of  society ;  and  especially  instruct  them  by  pre- 
cept and  example  to  show  a  ready  and  cheerful  obedience  to 
lawful  authority.  As  a  directory  in  these  things,  a  Clergyman  can 
find  no  better  guide  than  that  which  is  furnished  him  in  the  Church 
Catechism.  In  the  statement  of  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  God 
and  to  man,  it  is  plain,  comprehensive,  easy  to  be  understood,  and 
of  most  ready  application.  If  this  part  only  of  the  Catechism 
were  generally  received,  generally  taught,  and  generally  acknowl- 
edged in  practice,  the  surface  of  society  would  be  instantly 
changed  in  its  aspect,  and  peace,  order,  and  sobriety  shed  their 
united  influences  and  blessings  upon  our  country.  I  therefore 
earnestly  recommend  to  each  of  you,  my  brethren,  and  through 
3Tou  to  each  parent  and  head  of  a  family  in  your  congregations,  a 
faithful  and  diligent  instruction  of  all  the  members  of  our  com- 
munion, in  the  Catechism  of  this  Church. 

In  this  way,  by  showing  practically  the  advantages  of  Christ's 
religion  when  truly  understood,  "truly  received,  and  truly  fol- 
lowed," in  all  the  relations  of  life,  we  shall,  I  think,  remove  many 
of  those  obstacles  which  we  have  found  to  hinder  our  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  in  man's  nature  to  attend  chiefty  to 
that  which  he  conceives  to  be  his  present  interest.  The  duties  of 
life  are  so  numerous,  so  frequent  in  their  recurrence,  so  engross- 
ing in  their  character,  and  so  worldly  in  their  complexion,  that  it 
is  not  surprising  that  men  refer  them  to  principles  more  in  accord- 
ance with  their  carnal  notions  than  is  consistent  with  the  spirit- 
uality of  the  Gospel.  Under  a  persuasion  that  its  preaching  is 
designed  to  bear  almost  exclusively  upon  questions  about  our 
spiritual  nature,  and  that  its  duties  are  wholly  disconnected  from 
the  ordinary  concerns  of  life,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  manifest  a 
reluctance  to  come  under  its  influence.  In  addition,  the  infidelity 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  209 

that  is  abroad  will  persuade  men  that  Christianity  will  interfere 
not  only  with  their  enjoyments,  but  with  their  rights,  and  abridge 
their  liberty  to  an  unreasonable  extent.  Hence  the  indisposition 
manifested  by  many  to  contribute  any  aid  towards  the  erection  of 
places  of  worship,  and  the  reluctance  with  which  they  give  a  mod- 
icum for  the  decent  support  of  the  Ministry.  There  are  those,  — 
and  it  is  humiliating  to  the  feelings  with  which  we  cherish  the 
honor  of  the  State  to  mention  the  fact,  —  there  are  those  who 
will  expend  hundreds  of  dollars  in  an  electioneering  canvass,  and 
yet  begrudge  the  pitiful  sum  of  five  dollars  to  keep  up  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  for  a  whole  year !  Hence,  too,  in  combination 
with  the  causes  before  mentioned,  that  neglect  of  public  worship 
so  manifest  in  our  own  country ;  and,  where  it  is  not  wholly 
neglected,  the  feeling  on  the  part  of  many  who  imagine  that  they 
are  doing  a  favor  or  paying  a  compliment  to  a  Minister  by  coming 
to  hear  him  preach.  When  we  consider  all  these  things,  —  and 
they  are  but  few  of  those  that  might  be  named,  —  it  is  not  amaz- 
ing that  our  national  character  should  be  waxing  worse  and  worse  ; 
that  vice,  immorality,  and  irreligion  should  prevail  to  an  alarming 
extent;  that  the  mind  of  the  patriot  should  be  troubled  for  his 
country,  and  that  the  heart  of  the  priest  should  "  tremble  for  the 
ark  of  God." 

In  calling  your  attention  to  this  subject,  brethren,  as  one  claim- 
ing your  serious  consideration,  I  would  by  no  means  have  you  to 
underrate  those  things  which  the  Gospel  points  out  as  the  princi- 
pal obstacles  to  its  success.  In  the  inherent  depravity  of  man,  the 
love  of  sin  and  the  natural  aversion  of  the  human  heart  to  holi- 
ness, are  to  be  found  our  greatest  hindrances.  A  man  may  be  a 
good  citizen,  and  a  rigid  observer  of  all  the  proprieties  of  life, 
and  yet  cherish  a  most  nauseating  dislike  to  the  holiness  of  God's 
declared  character,  an  unconquerable  disgust  to  the  imitation  of 
the  exhibited  humility  and  meekness  of  Christ's  example.  But  a 
good  Christian  must  of  necessity  be  a  good  citizen.  He  will  rev- 
erence and  obey  the  civil  authoritj-  as  "  the  ordinance  of  God  ;  " 
he  will  "be  careful  to  maintain  good  works;"  he  will  add  con- 
secutively to  his  faith,  virtue,  knowledge,  temperance,  patience, 
godliness,  brotherly  kindness,  and  charity.  In  his  deportment  he 


210  Appendix. 

will  furnish  a  convicting  refutation  of  the  charge  that  Christianity 
does  not  enjoin  love  of  country  as  a  duty.  It  is  true  that  the 
term  "patriotism"  is  not  found  in  the  Bible.  Scripture  does  not 
teach  so  much  by  abstract  terms,  as  by  expressions  called  forth  in 
the  statement  of  facts.  But  resolve  this  term,  upon  the  absence 
of  which  the  opponents  of  Christianity  have  grounded  their 
charge,  into  its  elements,  —  and  this  we  are  compelled  to  do  in 
practice, — and  we  shall  find  in  the  precepts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  in  the  examples  of  the  Old,  ample  provision  made  for 
enforcing  the  duties  not  only  of  private  but  also  of  public  life. 

To  show  the  utter  helplessness  of  man  by  nature,  to  reach  that 
holiness  of  character  without  which  the  hope  of  immortality  is  dis- 
closed to  no  purpose,  and  thus  lead  sinners  to  the  provisions  of 
Gospel  grace  and  strength ;  to  exhibit  the  mercy  and  justice  of 
God's  manifested  character  in  the  humiliation  and  death  of  Christ 
on  the  cross ;  to  contrast  the  worthlessness  and  transitory  nature 
of  things  temporal  with  the  infinite  value  and  enduring  character 
of  the  things  that  are  eternal ;  to  hold  forth  the  comforts  and  con- 
solations of' Christ's  religion  in  the  hour  of  affliction  and  bereave- 
ment, and  to  carry  the  light  of  its  solace  to  the  dark  and  wretched 
abodes  to  which  poverty  and  misery  have  fled  from  the  gaze  of 
the  world,  —  must  ever  be  the  prominent  and  leading  objects  for 
which  a  Minister  of  Christ  lives,  labors,  and  prays.  But  with  the 
discharge  of  these  holy  and  bounden  duties  of  his  station,  he  may 
also  combine  attention  to  other  things,  which,  by  elevating  his 
office  in  public  esteem,  tend  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  useful- 
ness, to  remove  prejudice,  and  bring  the  largest  number  of  his  fel- 
low-creatures to  wait  upon  God  in  the  worship  and  ordinances  of 
His  house,  in  a  rational  and  becoming  manner,  and  with  a  proper 
sense  of  their  duties,  their  privileges,  and  their  responsibilities. 
And  I  pray  God  to  crown  }*our  efforts  in  this  and  in  all  your  laud- 
able undertakings  with  abundant  success,  that  our  nation  may 
become  as  conspicuous  for  piety  and  godliness  as  it  is  distinguished 
for  civil  and  religious  privileges,  and  that  "  peace  and  happiness, 
truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety,  may  be  established  among  us 
for  all  generations." 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  211 


ADDRESS.1 

MY  CHRISTIAN  FRIENDS,  —  Having  now  renewed  your  baptismal 
vows,  suffer  a  moment  the  word  of  exhortation,  spoken  in  the 
spirit  of  tender  affection,  and  deep  solicitude  for  your  welfare  and 
happiness,  temporal  and  eternal.  You  can  scarcely  realize,  by  any 
description  which  words  can  give,  the  overpowering  interest  and 
anxiety  which  a  pastor  feels,  when  he  beholds  any  of  those  com- 
mitted to  his  charge  coming  forward  for  the  first  time  to  ratify 
their  obligations  of  fidelity  to  God,  and  love  to  the  Saviour, — when 
he  contemplates  the  dangers  to  which  they  may  hereafter  be  ex- 
posed from  the  malice  of  a  wicked  world ;  when  he  thinks  of 
the  eternal  weight  of  glory  which  shall  be  the  sure  inheritance  of  the 
faithful  soldiers  of  Christ,  or  when  his  eye  in  imagination  ranges 
over  the  vast  field  of  that  miserable  and  wretched  eternity  where 
the  light  of  hope  never  dawns  upon  the  outcast  from  God.  Who 
can  enter  into  the  mingled  emotions  of  pleasure  and  fear,  of  anx- 
iety and  hope,  which  rush  tumultuously  upon  the  soul  at  such  a 
moment?  None,  surely,  but  those  who  watch  for  souls,  and  who 
feel  the  awful  responsibility  resting  upon  them,  that  for  souls  they 
must  give  account  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Let  me,  then, 
seize  upon  this  occasion  —  an  occasion  that  happens  but  once  in 
the  life  of  man  —  to  urge  upon  you  the  necessity  of  diligence  in  the 
work  of  your  salvation. 

The  prevalent  spirit  of  the  age  is  that  of  indolence  in  all  that 
concerns  the  interests  of  our  souls.  Professed  Christians  no  longer 
live,  as  once  exhorted,  and  as  once  they  did,  as  strangers  and 
pilgrims  upon  earth,  looking  for  a  better,  that  is,  a  heavenly  coun- 
try ;  but  their  speech  and  their  conduct  too  often,  alas !  indicate 
as  though  they  had  taken  this  world  as  their  portion,  and  that  here 

1  An  Address  delivered,  1845,  at  the  Confirmation  of  the  Bishop's  daugh- 
ter, Sarah  McGavock,  and  others. 


212  Appendix. 

amidst  its  sins  and  follies,  its  snares  and  temptations,  its  sorrows 
and  trials,  they  were  willing  to  abide  forever.  In  this  lies  one  of 
your  chief  dangers.  You  will  be  tempted  to  conclude,  that,  if  you 
are  but  as  pious  and  as  godly  as  others  around  you,  you  are  safe, 
and  may  readily  omit  the  performance  of  the  more  difficult  and 
painful  duties  of  religion.  But,  oh  !  remember  that  this  is  not  the 
rule  which  our  blessed  Saviour  and  his  Apostles  have  left  for  our 
government.  u  Be  ye  perfect,  as  your  Father  in  Heaven  is  per- 
fect," is  the  Divine  injunction  of  our  gracious  Redeemer;  while 
the  like  sentiment  is  echoed  by  the  Apostle,  "Be  ye  holy  in  all 
manner  of  conversation."  My  dear  friends,  strive  to  make  the 
highest  attainments  in  piety,  in  faith  and  charity ;  and  never  for- 
get that  Christ  has  left  us  an  example,  that  ye  should  follow  his 
steps. 

The  world  will  throw  every  obstacle  in  your  way,  which  it  can 
do,  to  impede  }Tour  onward  progress  to  the  heaventy  world.  The 
shafts  of  ridicule  will  be  hurled  at  you  with  thoughtless  levity  or 
with  more  wicked  malice  ;  the  finger  of  scorn  will  be  pointed  at  you 
in  cruel  derision  of  your  profession,  or  in  proud  disdain  of  that 
prudence  which  has  led  you  thus  early  to  seek  }^our  God.  You 
will  have  to  endure  the  imperious  look  of  him  who  is  too  haughty 
to  submit  to  Heaven's  authority,  and  to  bear  patiently  the  sneer 
that  curls  like  a  serpent  upon  the  lip  of  infidelity.  I  know  of  noth- 
ing, and  I  can  conceive  of  nothing,  that  so  fills  up  the  idea  of  an 
impersonation  of  the  Arch-fiend  himself,  as  the  heartless  and  con- 
temptible wretch  that  would  check  the  first  emotions  of  piety  in  the 
youthful  heart,  and  endeavor  to  plant  in  their  stead,  defiance  of 
God  and  disregard  of  his  law.  Consider  that  your  vow  this  day 
made,  and,  as  we  trust,  registered  with  approbation  in  Heaven,  has 
cut  you  loose  measurably  from  the  world,  —  at  least,  so  far  as  a 
renunciation  of  its  wicked  ways  and  practices  can  release  you  from 
the  thraldom  of  its  power.  What  though  the  world  may  scoff  and 
utter  its  scorn,  you  have  chosen  that  good  part  which  shall  never 
be  taken  away  from  you.  What  is  the  applause  of  men  worth, 
though  spoken  in  tones  loud  as  the  ocean's  roar,  if  purchased  at 
the  price  of  God's  favor?  what  all  the  pleasures  earth  has  to  give, 
if  enjoyed  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  joys  of  Heaven  ?  What  the  accu- 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  213 

mulated  riches  of  the  universe,  if  possessed  at  the  fearful  risk  of 
damnation?  u  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  of  the 
world  ;  for  if  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  him."  Hear  ye  this  solemn  warning?  Be  admonished,  then, 
and  persuaded  to  set  your  affections  on  things  above,  and  not  on 
things  on  the  earth.  Be  true  to  your  high  and  holy  calling.  Re- 
member that  you  are  henceforward  to  be  known  and  called  Chris- 
tians,—  the  most  honorable  name  that  ever  was  conferred  upon 
man ;  a  name  that  links  into  one  association  the  once  opposing 
but  now  adjusted  claims  of  mercy  and  justice,  the  reconciliation  of 
righteousness  with  peace,  the  union  of  God  with  man,  the  interests 
of  time  and  eternity,  the  triumph  of  Heaven  and  the  overthrow  of 
Hell !  Live,  then,  as  Christians,  I  beseech  you ;  and  then  when 
your  suns  go  down,  they  will  descend  like  the  glorious  luminary  of 
day,  leaving  behind  rays  of  brightness  to  cheer  the  twilight  hour, 
and  to  render  peaceful  the  evening  of  life.  The  spirit  of  resignation 
and  comfort  will  hover  around  the  bed  of  your  last  sickness  ;  and 
those  who  water  your  graves  with  tears  of  affection  will  rejoice  in 
hope,  and  be  consoled  with  the  blessed  thought  that  you  have 
safely  passed  the  dangers  of  time,  and  joined  the  glorious  company 
of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect. 

God  grant  that  such  may  be  the  consummation  of  your  efforts 
and  of  our  prayers  !  And  may  the  blessing  of  God  Almighty,  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be  upon  and  remain  with  you 
forever !  Amen. 


214  Appendix. 


THE  UNITY  OF  THE   CHURCH :   THE   MINISTRY :   THE 
APOSTOLICAL   SUCCESSION.1 

SERMON  I. 
"  And  He  is  the  Head  of  the  body,  the  Church."  —  COL.  i.  18. 

St.  Paul  the  Apostle,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  after  the 
salutations  with  which  he  commonly  begins  his  letters,  proceeds  to 
speak  of  the  great  power  and  dignity  of  the  Redeemer.  He  en- 
larges on  this  topic  for  the  purpose,  probably,  of  strengthening  the 
confidence  and  hope  of  the  Christians  at  Colosse  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  encouraging  them  to  "  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith." 
By  declaring  in  the  most  ample  terms  Christ's  exalted  power  and 
dignity,  he  would  raise  them  above  the  fear  of  trial  and  persecution 
in  this  life,  to  which  they  were  constantly  exposed,  and  would 
inspire  them  with  a  trust  in  the  Saviour,  that  would  disarm  even 
death  of  his  terrors.  For,  whom  could  they  reasonably  dread, 
when  so  much  power  was  engaged  in  their  behalf  and  for  their 

1  The  following  sermons  were  written  and  preached  more  than  a  year 
ago,  in  the  discharge  of  parochial  duty,  and  without  any  expectation  or 
intention  of  their  publication.  They  make  no  pretensions  to  literary  merit, 
and  no  such  distinction  is  claimed  for  them.  Composed  literally  currents 
calamo,  they  are  given  to  the  public  just  as  they  were  preached,  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three  additional  quotations  in  the  first  of  the  series, 
the  notes,  and  the  appendix. 

The  writer  has  no  expectation  that  these  discourses  will  prove  palatable 
to  the  great  majority  in  this  country  "who  call  themselves  Christians." 
Yet  he  is  not  without  hope  that  their  facts,  statements,  and  arguments,  if 
duly  weighed,  will  lead  to  further  examination  on  the  part  of  those  who  are 
concerned  "  to  know  the  truth."  "  And  if  for  necessary  truth's  sake  only, 
any  man  will  be  offended,  nay  take,  nay  snatch  at  that  offence  which  is  not 
given,  I  know  no  defence  for  that.  'Tis  truth,  and  I  must  tell  it;  'tis  the 
Gospel,  and  I  must  preach  it.  And  far  safer  is  it  in  this  case  to  bear  anger 
from  men,  than  a  woe  from  God." 

COLUMBIA,  July  1,  1843. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  215 

protection?  "  For  by  Him,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  were  all  things 
created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invis- 
ible, whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or 
powers :  all  things  were  created  by  Him,  and  for  Him  :  and  He  is 
before  all  things,  and  by  Him  all  things  consist.  And  He  is  the 
Head  of  the  body,  the  Church :  who  is  the  beginning,  the  first- 
born from  the  dead ;  that  in  all  things  He  might  have  the  pre- 
eminence."1 

Under  the  guidance  and  safe-guard  of  such  a  Friend,  the  saints 
at  Colosse  might  well  rise  superior  to  all  the  discouragements  and 
difficulties  which  encompassed  them  in  their  journey  through  this 
weary  world,  and  look  forward  with  composure  to  the  approach  of 
that  inevitable  hour  when  they  must  sink  into  the  grave  under  the 
stroke  of  death. 

We  would  do  well,  brethren,  to  remember  that  the  same  mercy 
embraces  us,  that  the  same  power  is  engaged  for  our  protection, 
that  the  same  gracious  Redeemer  is  our  unfailing  Friend,  and  that 
in  reliance  upon  Him  we  are  authorized  to  cherish  the  same  blessed 
hopes  for  time  and  for  eternity. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  us,  as  worthy  of  observation  in  the 
text,  is  the  singular  terms  in  which  the  Apostle  speaks  of  the 
Church.  It  is  called  a  body,  — a  body  of  which  Christ  is  the  Head. 
The  head  is  the  seat  of  all  those  mental  perceptions  which 
enable  us  to  exercise  our  judgment,  and  by  which  the  actions  of 
the  body  are  controlled  and  directed.  So  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
being  Head  of  the  Church,  is  the  source  of  all  wisdom,  power, 
and  dignity  in  it.  The  meaning  of  the  Apostle's  metaphor,  we 
conceive  to  be  fully  cleared  by  this  brief  and  simple  explanation. 
Perhaps  many  points  of  resemblance  might  be  sought  out ;  yet 
they  would  probably  be  of  a  fanciful  character,  and  tend  little  to 
edification. 

As  the  Church  is  here  and  elsewhere  in  Scripture  expressly 
called  a  body,2  we  are  at  once  and  necessarily  reminded  of  the  unity 
which  should  distinguish  it  in  faith  and  practice.  As  the  members 
of  the  natural  body  are  united  together  and  to  the  head,  by  the 

1  Col.  i.  16-18.  2  1  Cor.  x.  17;  Eph.  i.  23,  iv.  16. 


216  Appendix. 

veins,  arteries,  and  nerves ;  so  the  members  of  the  Church  are 
united  with  one  another  and  to  Christ  the  Head,  by  the  Spirit, 
faith,  love,  sacraments,  word,  and  ministry.  "  There  is  one  faith, 
and  one  baptism,"  saith  the  Apostle,  in  the  very  same  connection 
in  which  he  declares  that  "  there  is  one  body." l 

It  must  be  clear,  even  to  slight  reflection,  that  in  the  first  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Gospel,  and  in  the  gathering-together  of  the 
Church,  believers  were  perfectly  united  in  the  profession  of  the 
same  Faith,  and  in  submission  to  the  same  ordinances.  The  cir- 
cumstances by  which  the  first  converts  to  Christianity  were  sur- 
rounded, measurably  compelled  them  to  union  ;  and  that  they  were 
so  united,  is  manifestly  set  forth  in  the  declaration  that  "  they  con- 
tinued steadfastly  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in 
breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers."2  It  was  the  prayer  of  our 
blessed  Saviour,  and  among  the  last  which  He,  as  man,  addressed 
to  the  Father  concerning  his  disciples,  that  "they  all  might  be 
one."3  And  it  adds  to  the  affecting  interest  of  this  prayer,  to 
consider  that  the  Divine  Redeemer  seems  to  regard  the  unity  of 
his  Church  as  a  necessary  evidence  to  the  world  that  the  Father 
had  sent  him.  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also 
which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word ;  that  they  all  may 
be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us  :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent 
Me."* 

"  That  they  all  may  be  one,"  —  one  in  love,  one  in  faith,  one 
in  practice,  one  in  hope.  This  oneness  of  the  Christian  Church 
continued,  with  but  little  interruption,  until  the  perilous  and  puri- 
fying times  of  persecution  ceased,  and  believers  began  to  exercise 
themselves  about  questions  which  in  their  discussion,  instead  of 
ministering  grace  to  those  who  heard,  tended  rather  to  strifes  and 
divisions,  and  the  evil  works  which  usually  attend  upon  conten- 
tions. 

Divisions  of  the  Christian  name  have  at  length  so  multiplied, 
that  in  our  day  it  seems  that  the  question  is  rarely  made,  whether 

1  Eph.  iv.  4,  5.  2  Acts  ii.  42.  8  St.  John  xvii.  20,  21,  4  St.  John 
xvii.  20,  21. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  217 

such  things  are  allowable  under  the  law  of  Christ.  It  appears  to 
be  taken  for  gran  ted  x  that  men  will  differ  in  their  religious  views  ; 
that  differences  are  inevitable  from  the  very  constitution  of  men ; 
that  they  will  have  their  preferences,  and  that  these  preferences, 
no  matter  upon  what  grounds  they  may  be  entertained,  may  be 
safely  indulged  to  the  extent  of  attaching  one's  self  to  any  society 
whatever  that  professes  to  be  Christian.  In  short,  there  seems 
to  be  a  very  widely  diffused  persuasion  in  the  public  mind,  that 
one  denomination  of  professed  Christianity  is,  as  to  authority, 
about  as  good  as  another.  Hence  we  hear  of  many  different  asso- 
ciations styled  Churches,  —  the  deluded  followers  of  Joe  Smith  the 
Mormon  prophet,  and  others  equally  ignorant  and  fanatical,  appro- 
priating to  themselves  this  venerable  and  once  venerated  appella- 
tion. Hence  it  has  come  to  pass,  that  the  exercise  of  a  salutary 
discipline  has  almost  ceased  among  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ ;  it  being  found  impossible  to  prevent  the  reception,  to  what 
are  called  Church  privileges,  of  those  repelled,  rejected,  or  expelled 
by  some  association  calling  itself  Christian ;  and  hence  the  chief 
aim  of  the  various  sects  of  the  age  seems  to  be,  to  gain  influence 
and  power  by  adding  to  their  numerical  strength,  rather  than  to 
promote  true  piety  and  godliness  among  men. 

Can  any  serious  and  reflecting  person,  however,  really  think 
that  the  various  bodies  of  men  who  are  known  under  the  name  of 
Churches  of  Christ  are  verily  authorized  to  act  in  His  name,  and 
impart  to  others  authority  to  administer  the  sacraments  of  His 
religion?  Especially  can  they  so  think,  when  they  perceive  the 
practical  results  to  which  such  opinions  lead  in  the  countless  divis- 
ions into  which  the  professed  followers  of  Christ  are  now  scattered, 
— in  the  bitterness  and  rancor  which  opposing  sects  exhibit  towards 
each  other? 

Without  the  introduction  of  some  restraining  principle  to  coun- 
teract this  general  disposition  among  men  of  the  present  day  to 
separate  into  parties,  it  must  be  too  evident  to  need  proof,  that 
every  thing  like  unity  among  Christians  will  be  at  an  end.  The 
only  bond  to  draw  men  together  in  ecclesiastical  associations  will 
then  be  inclination  and  interest,  or  accidental  circumstances  grow- 
ing out  of  the  intercourse  of  social  life.  And  when  these  cease  to 


218  Appendix. 

operate  or  to  have  influence,  new  divisions  must  ensue  from  a 
change  of  circumstances  or  of  relations  in. an  ever  varying  and 
changing  world  ;  until  every  distinctive  feature  of  the  Christian 
system  and  of  the  Church,  one  after  another,  shall  pass  away,  and 
the  whole  be  divested  of  that  Divine  authority  which  alone  can  and 
ought  to  give  it  sanction  and  weight  with  men.  Indeed,  if  these 
separations  into  distinct  bodies  or  communities  be  allowable,  there 
seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  every  man  should  not  act  for  him- 
self and  family  in  the  affairs  of  religion,  without  the  intervention 
or  aid  of  any  Ministry  whatever.  And  certainly  those  who  at  this 
day  have  discarded  all  authority  in  the  Church,  act  consistently  in 
administering  the  rites  of  religion  at  all  times,  in  all  places,  and  to 
all  persons  who  ask  for  them,  without  reference  to  any  rule,  law, 
or  custom  upon  the  subject.  They  act  consistently,  we  say,  with 
their  avowed  principles.  Whether  these  principles  be  in  accord- 
ance with  the  revealed  will  of  God,  as  interpreted  by  the  practice 
of  the  primitive  Church,  is  another  and  a  very  different  matter. 

An  idea  seems  to  prevail  quite  extensively,  that  Christianity  in 
its  doctrines  and  forms  is  susceptible  of  improvement  like  the  arts 
and  sciences,  and  that  new  discoveries  are  to  reward  investigation 
into  it,  as  in  other  things.  Hence  old-fashioned  views  of  religion 
—  such  as  teaching  children  the  Catechism,  and  training  them  to 
the  habitual  practice  of  devotion  and  other  Christian  duties,  are 
not  only  rejected,  but  actually  ridiculed  as  savoring  of  earthliness ; 
and  the  self-constituted  reformers  of  the  age  set  forth  their  own 
peculiar  sentiments  with  all  the  positive  confidence  and  directness 
of  assertion  which  attach  to  the  claim  of  infallibility.  There  is 
truth  in  the  maxim  which  says  that  extremes  meet,  and  those  who 
first  set  out  with  a  denial  of  all  authority  are  presently  found  claim- 
ing all  authority  for  themselves. 

This  is  strikingly  shown  in  the  movements  of  a  modern  sect 
called  by  themselves  Reformers,  but  better  known  among  us  under 
the  appellation  of  Cam.pbellites.  And  here  I  beg  to  be  understood 
not  as  mentioning  names  reproachfully,  but  simply  for  the  sake  of 
illustration.  Among  these,  as  well  as  among  others  to  whom  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  refer  in  this  discourse,  I  am  free  to  declare, 
and  I  take  pleasure  in  saying,  that  I  believe  there  are  many 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  219 

humble,  pious,  and  sincere  believers,  "  who  through  faith  and 
patience  are  striving  to  inherit  the  promises."  l 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  sect  already  named  is  the  rejec- 
tion of  all  creeds,  and  the  avowed  adoption  of  the  New  Testament 
in  their  place,  as  the  only  and  all-sufficient  standard  of  faith  and 
practice.  If,  say  they,  creeds  are  contrary  to  the  New  Testament, 
they  are  wrong,  and  ought  to  be  rejected.  If  they  are  in  accord- 
ance with  it,  they  are  at  least  unnecessary,  and  may  be  injurious. 
There  is  plausibility  in  this  reasoning,  —  full  as  much  as  that  which 
decided  the  fate  of  the  famous  library  of  Alexandria,  —  but  far 
more  sophistry  concealed  under  an  exterior  of  much  candor  and 
fairness.  The  word  creed  means  what?  Undoubtedly  belief.  And 
it  matters  not  in  principle,  whether  it  consist  of  one  article  or 
twenty.  Now,  when  we  come  to  ask  these  people  who  have  under- 
taken to  reform  Christianity,  or  rather  the  Church,  what  they  believe 
to  be  meant  by  Christian  baptism,  they  unhesitatingly  declare  that 
it  is  immersion  in  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost  ;2  and  that  no  affusion,  pouring,  or  sprinkling  of  water  can 
be  properly  regarded  as  baptism.  Consequently  all  persons  who 
have  been  baptized  in  any  other  way  than  by  immersion,  they  con- 
sider as  yet  without  the  pale  of  the  Church,  and  strangers  to  the 
covenant  of  promise.  And  their  practice  accords  herewith  ;  for  no 
person  can  or  will  be  received  into  what  they  are  pleased  to  style 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven  or  of  Christ,  without  submitting  to  be 
immersed. 

Thus  we  see,  then,  that,  while  they  profess  to  reject  all  creeds, 
they  nevertheless  strenuously  maintain  —  and  right  they  are  for 
doing  this  —  that  interpretation  of  the  language  of  Scripture  which 
they  believe  to  be  the  truth  of  God :  and,  consequently,  do,  in 

1  Heb.  vi.  12. 

2  The  form  of  words  in  baptizing  is  not  the  same  with  all  the  preachers 
or proclaimers  among  these  people.    Some  use  the  common  form,  "  I  baptize 
thee,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Others  of  them  say,  "  By  the  authority  of  the  Messiah,  I  baptize  thee  for  the 
remission  of  sins;"  and  some  here  add,  "In  the  name  of  the  Father,"  etc. 
Others  again,  "I  baptize  thee  into  the  name  of  Jesus,  for  the  remission  of 
sins." 


220  Appendix. 

practice,  uphold  the  very  thing  which  they  condemn  in  others. 
For  a  creed  was  never  intended  to  express  any  thing  more  than 
what  was  conceived  to  be  the  meaning  of  Holy  Scripture.  It  is 
the  purpose  of  the  Creed  to  express,  in  as  brief  a  form  as  possible, 
the  leading  facts  and  main  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and 
so  far  from  having  the  effect,  as  is  alleged,  of  separating  men  into 
parties,  just  the  contrary  object  is  aimed  at,  and  just  the  opposite 
result,  for  the  most  part,  obtained  by  their  use.  No  man  who  be- 
lieves in  the  Divine  authority  of  the  New  Testament  will  object  to 
a  single  article  of  what  is  called  the  Apostles'  Creed.  Much  of  it 
is  in  the  very  language  of  Scripture ; l  and  that  which  is  not  is 
nevertheless  so  plainly  deducible  from  it,  that  no  intelligent  person 
will  deny  that  it  is  built  upon  the  express  authority  of  God's  Holy 
Word.  No  really  sound  objection,  therefore,  can  be  urged  against 
its  use.  On  the  other  hand,  the  many  valuable  purposes  which  it 
serves  by  presenting  a  concise  summary  of  the  Christian  Faith,  and 
forming  a  bond  of  union  among  the  followers  of  Christ,  will  always 
vindicate  the  wisdom  of  retaining  it  among  our  forms  of  public 
worship.  The  precise  period  of  time  at  which  this  Creed,  vener- 
able for  its  antiquity,  was  composed,  is  not  known  with  certainty. 
No  doubt  it  was  very  near  to  the  Apostles'  times,  though  we  can- 
not assert  that  it  belongs  to  the  very  age  in  which  they  lived  and 
preached.  It  is  as  near  a  transcript  of  what  they  taught,  very 
briefly  expressed,  as  can  well  be  conceived.  Indeed,  some  learned 
men  have  given  it  as  their  opinion,  that  this  Creed  was  formed  as 
an  abstract  from  the  Apostolic  writings,  and  intended  as  far  as 
possible  to  supply  the  want  of  the  sacred  books  among  people  who 
had  not  the  opportunity  to  read  them ;  as  likewise  to  furnish  an 
outline,  to  ignorant  people  incapable  of  reading,  of  what  things 
they  were  required  to  believe  in  order  to  their  becoming  Christians, 
—  purposes  which  the  Creed  is  admirably  adapted  to  answer,  as 
any  one  may  be  easily  convinced  of,  who  undertakes  to  teach  the 
unlearned  the  main  doctrines  of  revelation,  and  their  own  corre- 
sponding duties. 

But  one  of  the  chief  and  among  the  most  excellent  purposes 

1  See  1  Cor.  xv. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  221 

which  the  Creed  answers,  especially  by  its  introduction  into  the 
worship  of  the  congregation,  is  the  preservation  of  unity  among 
the  members  of  the  body.  It  is  thus  that  we  are  all  enabled  to 
"  speak  the  same  thing,"  and  "  be  perfectly  joined  together,"  as 
the  Apostle  enjoins,  "in  the  same  mind  and  the  same  judgment."1 
It  is  thus  we  confess  Christ  "before  men,"  profess  "the  Faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  2  and  preclude  all  just  occasion  for 
divisions. 

It  is  thus,  too,  that  liberty  of  conscience  is  secured.  Not  that 
sort  of  liberty  which  amounts  to  free  thinking,  which  spurns  all 
restrictions  and  limitations  upon  the  reason  and  judgment,  which 
puts  at  defiance  all  law  and  authority,  and  sets  up  its  own  dictum 
as  the  infallible  truth  of  God.  This  is  licentiousness,  and  not 
liberty.  This  is  that  wild  spirit  of  insubordination,  which,  under 
the  name  of  freedom,  has  never  failed  to  exercise  an  iron  despotism 
over  the  minds  of  men  wherever  and  whenever  an  opportunity  was 
presented.  Of  this,  the  past  history  of  the  world  has  furnished 
abundant  and  striking  examples ;  and  it  is,  in  truth,  the  real 
foundation  of  nearly  all  the  systems  which  sectarianism  has  intro- 
duced, defended,  and  established. 

The  Apostles'  and  Nicene  Creeds  contain  an  outline  of  the 
main  facts  and  doctrines  of  the  GospeL  They  deal  with  general 
principles.8  They  set  forth  not  a  single  peculiarity,  except  as  it 
may  distinguish  Christianity  from  all  other  religions  ;  nor  do  they 
enunciate  a  single  fact,  or  declare  a  single  doctrine,  in  which  the 
vast  majority,  if  not  all  Christians,  do  not  agree.  And  here  is 
a  leading  point  of  difference  between  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  and  the  various  dissenting  bodies  around  her.  She  re- 
quires the  reception  only  of  that  which  was  confessedly  acknowl- 
edged in  the  primitive  Church  as  the  Christian  Faith,  —  as  of 
universal  belief  and  no  less  universal  practice.  The  Nicene  Creed 
was  put  forth  as  embodying  the  sense  and  judgment  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  as  early  as  the  year  325  (A.D.),  and  in  condemnation 
of  the  Arian  heresy  which  then  began  to  disturb  the  unity  of  the 

1  1  Cor.  i.  10.  2  St.  Jude,  3. 

8  These  as  applied  in  practice  are  extended  and  explained  in  the  worship, 
offices,  etc.,  of  the  church. 


222  Appendix. 

body.  Whatever  can  be  shown  to  be  of  undoubted  belief  and 
practice,  among  the  whole  body  of  believers  previous  to  that  time, 
we  hold  to  be  obligator}7  upon  us  at  this  day,  as  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church  of  Christ.  We  call  on  no  man  to  subscribe  to 
any  thing  peculiar  and  distinct  from  what  was  thus  believed  and 
practised,  in  order  to  his  becoming  a  Christian.  The  demand 
made  is,  "  Dost  thou  believe  all  the  articles  of  the  Christian  Faith 
as  contained  in  the  Apostles'  Creed?  "  l  and  upon  the  affirmative 
profession  thus  made,  we  baptize  in  the  name  of  the  blessed  and 
adorable  Trinity,  and  receive  the  subject  into  the  visible  Church, 
as  a  member  of  Christ's  body.  Not  so  with  the  self-styled  Re- 
formers of  this  age,  who  insist  upon  immersion  as  indispensable 
to  admission  into  the  visible  fold  of  Christ.  Not  so  with  Presby- 
terians, who  set  forth  in  their  u  confession  of  faith,"  that  "angels 
and  men,  predestinated  and  fore-ordained,  are  particularly  and 
unchangeably  designed ;  that  the  righteous  are  chosen  in  Christ 
unto  everlasting  glory,  out  of  God's  mere  free  grace  and  love, 
without  any  foresight  of  faith  or  good  works,  or  perseverance  in 
either  of  them,  or  any  other  thing  in  the  creature,  as  conditions, 
or  causes  moving  him  thereunto  ;  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his  glori- 
ous grace  ;  "  and  that  it  hath  pleased  God,  "  for  the  glory  of  his 
sovereign  power  over  his  creatures,  to  pass  b}T  the  rest  of  mankind, 
and  ordain  them  to  dishonor  and  wrath  for  their  sins,  to  the  praise 
of  his  glorious  justice."  2  Not  so  with  Methodists,  who  substitute 
internal  persuasions,  which  they  call  the  assurance  of  faith,  or  the 
witness  of  God's  Spirit,  for  that  holiness  of  life,  that  inward  purity 
and  moral  rectitude,  which  are  the  proper  evidence  of  conversion, 
of  renovation,  of  an  acceptable  state  with  God.  Not  so  with 
Papists,  who  demand  unqualified  submission  to  the  decrees  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  in  the  sixteenth  centur}7,  as  an  indispensable  con- 
dition of  salvation.  Thus  the  theological  opinions  of  men  are 
attempted  to  be  bound  on  the  consciences  of  mankind  as  dogmas 
of  faith,  and  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free, 
virtually  destroyed. 

1  Prayer-Book :  Office  of  Baptism. 

2  Confession  of  Faith;  article  orch.  iii.  of  God's  eternal  decrees  —  Phila. 
Ed.  1821. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  223 

Contrary  to  all  these,  and  many  others  too  numerous  to  be 
named,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  of  Christ  teaches  as  articles  of 
faith  those  things  only  which  are  plainly  delivered  in  the  written 
Word  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  and  about  the  truth  of  which 
there  never  was  any  doubt  among  the  faithful.  And  now  let  me 
ask,  is  not  this  reasonable?  is  not  this  safe?  is  it  not  consistent 
with  the  charity  of  the  Gospel?  If  my  fellow-man  professes  his 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  what  the  Apostles  taught,  why  must  I 
impose  on  him  new  and  additional  terms  of  communion  or  fellow- 
ship which  they  never  required  ?  Why  must  my  interpretation  of 
Scripture  be  taken  as  correct,  and  his  condemned?  or  why  his 
received,  and  mine  rejected?  Who  is  to  decide  between  us,  if  we 
chance  to  disagree?  a  thing  very  likely  to  happen.  We  both 
appeal  to  the  written  Word :  who  is  to  be  umpire  between  us  ? 
There  is  no  decision  to  be  had  in  such  a  case,  without  an  appeal 
to  the  authority  of  the  Church, — without  reverting  to  primitive 
Christianity,  and  that  which  has  received  the  sanction  of  all,  every- 
where, and  from  the  beginning  to  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.D.  325 
(down  to  which  period  it  is  acknowledged  on  all  hands,  the  Faith 
was  kept  pure  and  unadulterated  by  the  great  body  of  believers  in 
every  part  of  the  world)  ;  and  this  must  be  regarded  as  of  apostoli- 
cal authority.  Further  than  this  we  need  not  go,  to  be  assured 
of  our  fellowship  with  the  apostles,  and  through  the  sacraments  of 
the  Church  which  they  established,  of  our  union  to  Christ,  the 
living  Head. 

I  have  thought  it  the  more  necessary  to  dwell  on  this  part  of 
the  subject,  because  of  the  misapprehension  and  prejudice,  not  to 
sa}T  misrepresentation,  which  I  know  to  abound  in  the  community, 
respecting  the  Church,  and  the  position  which  she  occupies  towards 
the  various  religious  professions  around  us.  The  Church  utters  no 
denunciations  against  others,  who  through  faith  and  repentance 
are  striving,  however  misguidedly  in  some  things,  after  the  crown 
of  life.  She  takes  her  stand  on  general  principles,  which  may  be 
known  and  read  of  all  men  ;  and  in  the  setting-forth  of  these,  the 
plainness  and  simplicity  of  her  language  are  equalled  only  by  its 
modesty,  —  by  the  carefulness  with  which  she  has  guarded  her 
formularies  from  the  expression  of  a  harsh  and  uncharitable  judg- 
ment on  the  faith  and  practice  of  others. 


224  Appendix. 

Are  we  asked,  What  is  the  Church?  The  Nineteenth  Article 
replies  :  ' '  The  visible  Church  of  Christ  is  a  congregation  of  faith- 
ful men,  in  the  which  the  pure  Word  of  God  is  preached,  and  the 
Sacraments  be  duly  ministered  according  to  Christ's  ordinance,  in 
all  those  things  that  of  necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same." 

Is  the  demand  made,  Who  are  authorized  to  minister  the  Word 
and  Sacraments  of  Christ's  religion?  The  preface  to  the  Ordinal 
furnishes  the  answer,  thus  :  "  It  is  evident  unto  all  men  diligently 
reading  Holy  Scripture  and  ancient  Authors,  that  from  the  Apos- 
tles' time  there  have  been  these  Orders  of  Ministers  in  Christ's 
Church,  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons.  Which  Offices  were  ever- 
more had  in  such  reverend  Estimation,  that  no  man  might  presume 
to  execute  any  of  them,  except  he  were  first  called,  tried,  ex- 
amined, and  known  to  have  such  qualities  as  are  requisite  for  the 
same ;  and  also  by  public  Prayer,  with  Imposition  of  Hands,  was 
approved  and  admitted  thereunto  by  lawful  Authority.  And  there- 
fore, to  the  intent  that  these  Orders  may  be  continued  and  rever- 
ently used  and  esteemed  in  this  Church,  no  man  shall  be  accounted 
or  taken  to  be  a  lawful  Bishop,  Priest,  or  Deacon  in  this  Church, 
or  suffered  to  execute  any  of  the  said  Functions,  except  he  be 
called,  tried,  examined,  and  admitted  thereunto,  according  to  the 
Form  hereafter  following,  or  hath  had  Episcopal  Consecration  or 
Ordination."  It  will  be  perceived  from  the  foregoing,  that  the 
Church  undertakes  to  declare  who  shall  be  accounted  lawful  minis- 
ters in  her  own  communion.  She  raises  not  the  question,  nor 
does  she  say  one  word  about  the  authority  of  those  who  execute 
the  functions  of  religion  among  others.  She  judges  them  not ; 
to  their  own  Master  they  stand  or  fall,  and  to  Him  they  must  give 
account.  If  others  think  their  authority  called  in  question  by  the 
declaration  which  she  sets  forth,  that  "it  is  evident  to  all  men, 
diligently  reading  Holy  Scripture  and  ancient  Authors,  that  from 
the  Apostles'  time  there  have  been  these  Orders  of  Ministers  in 
Christ's  Church,  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,"  she  is  not  to 
blame  for  it.  It  is  their  own  fault  that  they  have  not  sought  for 
that  authority  from  the  source  and  in  the  way  which  she  declares 
to  be  lawful.  It  is  her  business  to  see  that  the  application  of  the 
general  principle  which  she  asserts  be  made  to  those  who  seek  to 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  225 

minister  in  her  congregations.  And  this  is  all  that  she  undertakes 
to  do,  leaving  others  to  pursue  the  course  which  they  believe  to  be 
warranted  by  the  Word  of  God  and  the  practice  of  the  Church  of 
Christ.  It  is,  however,  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  the  correct- 
ness of  the  general  principle  stated  by  the  Church  is  admitted  by 
the  large  majority  of  those  who  have  left  her  pale,  and  set  up 
separate  communions  for  themselves. 

Thus  Calvin,  the  founder  of  Presbyterianism,  says,  "  If  they 
will  give  us  such  an  hierarchy,  in  which  the  Bishops  have  such  a 
pre-eminence  as  that  they  do  not  refuse  to  be  subject  unto  Christ, 
I  will  confess  that  they  are  worthy  of  all  anathemas,  if  any  such 
there  be,  who  will  not  reverence  it,  and  submit  themselves  to  it 
with  the  utmost  obedience."  1 

Thus  Martin  Luther:  "I  allow  that  each  state  ought  to  have 
one  Bishop  of  its  own  by  Divine  right ;  which  I  show  from  Paul, 
saying  '  for  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete.'  "  2 

Thus  Melanchthon  :  "  I  would  to  God  it  lay  in  me  to  restore  the 
government  of  Bishops.  For  I  see  what  manner  of  Church  we 
shall  have,  the  ecclesiastical  polity  being  dissolved.  I  do  see  that 
hereafter  will  grow  up  in  the  Church  a  greater  tyranny  than  there 
ever  was  before."  8 

Thus  Beza,  the  successor  of  Calvin :  "  In  my  writings  touching 
Church  government,  I  ever  impugned  the  Romish  hierarchy,  but 
never  intended  to  touch  or  impugn  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  the 
Church  of  England."4 

The  plea  urged  for  establishing  a  government  of  Presb3'ters, 
contrary  to  what  was  the  known  order  of  the  Church,  was  neces- 
sity. The  Reformation  on  the  Continent  was  carried  forward  by 
the  lower  orders  of  the  Clergy,  —  that  is,  by  the  Presbyters  and 
Deacons, — in  conjunction  with  the  people.  The  Bishops  refused 
to  unite  with  them  except  in  a  very  few  instances.  In  England, 
on  the  contrary,  the  Ministry,  including  Bishops,  Priests,  and 
Deacons,  reformed  with  the  people ;  and  hence  there  existed  no 
necessity  and  no  reason  to  change  the  order  of  government  by 

1  Word  for  the  Church,  p.  51,  Joannes  Calvini  Trac.  Theo.  omiies,  p.  69. 

2  Ibid.,  Resolutions.  8  Ibid.,  Apology,  etc.,  p.  395. 
4  Ibid.,  p.  52,  Letter  to  Archp.  Whitgift. 


226  Appendix. 

Bishops,  and  consequently  no  alteration  was  then,  or  for  a  long 
time  after,  attempted. 

But  what  does  this  plea  of  necessity  unavoidably  suppose? 
Unquestionably,  a  departure  from  some  established  rule  and  order, 
otherwise  there  could  be  no  reason  or  sense  at  all  in  such  plea. 
It  must  be  evident,  then,  beyond  cavil,  that,  when  the  necessity 
ceases,  the  practice  which  the  plea  of  necessity  is  introduced  to 
jtistif}'  ought  to  cease  also.  And  it  is  on  this  ground  precisely  that 
we  urge  all  those  who  practise  Presbyterian  ordination,1  to  cease 
an  irregularity  (to  use  the  softest  term)  which  the  state  of  the 
Christian  world  no  longer  renders  necessary,  if  it  ever  did ;  and 
return  to  the  application  of  the  rule  which,  beyond  all  doubt,  pre- 
vailed in  the  primitive  and  apostolic  Church. 

But  to  justify  this  separation,  and  uphold  the  Presbyterial  form 
of  Church  government,  it  is  sometimes  asserted  that  the  Orders  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  are  defective  or  vitiated  because  derived 
through  a  corrupt  channel,  —  that  is,  the  Romish  Church.  If  this 
objection  avails  any  thing,  it  is  as  destructive  of  the  validity  of 
Presbyterian  orders,  as  it  is  of  Episcopal  ordination.  For,  from 
whom  did  the  Presbj'ters  that  founded  the  Presbyterian  form  of 
Church  government  in  the  sixteenth  century,  derive  their  authority  ? 
Undoubted!}',  from  the  Church  of  Rome ;  and  whatever  authority 
the}T  claimed  and  exercised,  without  question  flowed  through  that 
channel.  And  can  it  be  that  this  same  fountain  sent  forth  waters 
both  sweet  and  bitter  at  the  same  time,  —  that,  more  mysterious 
than  Elisha's  salt  at  Jericho,  Presbyterian  orders  came  forth  from 
it  pure  and  unadulterated,  while  Episcopacy  was  tainted  and  cor- 
rupted? You  perceive,  then,  that  the  objection,  if  of  any  weight, 
is  fatal  to  those  who  make  it.  But  it  is  alleged  that  the  Episco- 
pacy of  the  English  Church,  and  of  course  that  of  the  American 
branch,  comes  through  the  Roman  ponthTs  or  popes,  and,  the  Pope 
being  the  man  of  sin,  he  can  of  course  transmit  no  power  or 
authority  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  We  see  not  that  this  shifting 
of  ground  helps  along  with  the  difficulty.  For  it  is  not  to  be 

1  The  Methodists  of  course  included;  for  they  have  nothing  but  Presby- 
terial ordination  to  plead,  if  they  can  make  good  their  claim  even  to  that. 
Neither  Wesley  nor  Coke  was  a  Bishop. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  227 

conceived  how,  if  the  connection  which  Bishops  maintained  with 
the  Roman  Pope  vitiated  or  abrogated  their  authority,  the  power 
of  Presbyters  was  not  annulled  because  of  the  same  connec- 
tion. 

That  the  popes  of  Rome,  aided  by  the  secular  power,  did  usurp 
and  exercise  an  ecclesiastical  domination  in  Great  Britain,  we  are 
not  so  ignorant  of  history  as  to  deny.  That  that  domination  viti- 
ated or  destroyed  the  Orders  of  the  English  Church,  we  do  most 
emphatically  deny ;  and  to  sustain  that  denial  we  appeal  both  to 
facts  and  argument.  Much  of  the  misapprehension  and  consequent 
misrepresentation  which  abound  upon  this  subject  are  referable  to 
the  ignorance  which  prevails  respecting  the  original  establishment 
of  Christianity  in  the  British  Islands,  and  the  subsequent  intro- 
duction of  Romanism.  We  deem  the  subject  of  importance  and 
interest  enough  to  merit  particular  attention ;  and,  although  our 
observations  must  at  present  be  restricted  to  the  limits  usually 
appropriated  to  a  single  discourse,  yet  will  they  be,  we  trust, 
amply  sufficient  to  lead  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  question 
before  us. 

It  is  matter  of  history,  well  authenticated,  that  Augustine  the 
monk  came  to  Britain  from  Gregory  of  Rome,  on  a  mission  to  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  in  the  year  590.  It  is  equally  well  known,  that, 
some  time  after  his  arrival,  he  met  in  conference  seven  Bishops 
already  established  in  their  sees  in  Britain,  and  exercising  Episco- 
pal authority  over  the  churches  under  their  care.  The  question  at 
once  arises,  By  whom  was  Christianity  planted  in  Britain,  and 
whence  did  these  Bishops  derive  consecration?  The  answer  to 
these  questions  will  show  what  connection  the  ancient  British 
Church  had  with  the  Roman  see. 

And,  first,  we  have  witnesses  as  to  the  fact  that  Christianity 
existed  in  Britain  long  before  the  arrival  of  Augustine. 

Tertullian1    (A.D.    193-220)    says.  "  Some   countries   of  the 

1  Adversus  Judceos,  c.  7:  "  Hispaniarum  omnes  termini,  et  Galliarum 
diverse  nationes,  et  Britannorum  inaccessa  Eomanis  loca,  Christo  vero  sub- 
dita." 

Orat.  torn.  1,  p.  575:    "Kat  -yap  ai  BperaviKat  vrjaoc  at  rrj<;   QO}MTTT)S 
K.CLI  ev  avro)  ovaat  TO  ft/ceavw  T?}£  dvvafieus  TOV  pw/zarof  qodovro  "  etc. 


228  Appendix. 

Britons  which  proved  inaccessible  to  the  Romans  are  subject  to 
Christ." 

Origen  (A.D.  230)  says,  "  When  did  Britain  before  the  com- 
ing of  Christ  unite  in  the  worship  of  one  God?  " 

Chrysostom  (A.D.  400),  "  The  British  Islands,  situated  be- 
3Tond  our  sea,  and  lying  in  the  very  ocean,  have  felt  the  power  of 
the  Word  ;  for  even  there  churches  are  built,  and  altars  erected." 

You  will  remember  that  Augustine  came  to  England  A.D.  590. 
These  testimonies  show  conclusively  that  Christianity  was  preached, 
and  churches  erected  there,  long  before  he  was  born. 

2.  We  have  a  witness  as   to   the  time  when  Christianity  was 
introduced  into  Britain.     Gildas,  a   Briton   by  birth,  A.D.  546, 
says  it  was  in  the  }'ear  of  our  Lord  61  ;  viz.,  in  and  about  the 
date  of  St.  Paul's  travels  to  the  West.     Gildas,  after  mentioning 
the  defeat  of  Boadicea,  A.D.  61,  adds,  "  In  the  meanwhile  the  sun 
of  the  Gospel  first  enlightened  this  island." 

3.  We  have  a  witness  as  to  the  persons  by  whom  the  Gospel 
was  there  preached.     Eusebius  (A.D.  270-340)  speaking  of  the 
travels   of  the   Apostles   to   propagate   the   faith,  says   some   of 
them  "passed  over  the  ocean  to  the  British  Isles,"  —  "  sm  rag 


4.  We  have  witnesses  as  to  the  specific  man.  Clemens  Ro- 
manus  (A.D.  70),  the  intimate  friend  and  fellow-laborer  of  St. 
Paul,  says  of  him,  that  in  preaching  the  Gospel  he  went  to  the 
utmost  bounds  of  the  West,  "  sTtt  TO  TEQfia  rqg  dvGeojg  ;  "  an  expres- 
sion denoting  Spain,  Gaul,  and  Britain,  but  more  particularly  the 
last-named  region. 

Jerome  (A.D.  329-420),  speaking  of  St.  Paul's  imprison- 
ment and  subsequent  journey  into  Spain,  says  he  went  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  and  preached  the  Gospel  in  the  Western  parts.  That 
in  the  Western  parts  he  included  Britain,  is  evident  from  his  letter 
to  Marcella.  Theodoret  (A.D.  423-460)  mentions  the  Britons 
among  the  nations  converted  by  the  Apostles  ;  and  says  that  St. 
Paul,  after  his  release  from  imprisonment,  went  to  Spain,  and 
from  thence  carried  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  other  nations,  and 

1  Dem.  Ev.,  L.  3,  c.  7. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  229 

brought  salvation  to  the  Islands  that  lie  in  the  ocean.  All  writers 
whom  I  have  consulted  understand  by  this  expression,  as  used  by 
the  Fathers,  the  British  Isles. l  Theodoret  calls  the  British  Chris- 
tians "  disciples  of  the  tent-maker  "  (St.  Paul) .  These  authorities 
are  decisive  as  to  the  establishment  of  Christianity  in  Britain  before 
the  coming  of  Augustine  in  A.D.  590.  The  conclusion  is  irresist- 
ible from  the  testimony,  that  the  Church  was  there  planted  by  the 
Apostles,  and  most  probably  by  St.  Paul.  "The  Bishop  whom 
St.  Paul  is  recorded  to  have  appointed  was  Aristobulus,  who  is 
mentioned  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  By  the  appointment  of 
Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  the  form  of  Church  government  was 
complete;  and  the  British  Church,  therefore,  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
was  fully  established.  And  what  results  from  this  establishment 
of  the  British  Church  by  St.  Paul?  This  very  interesting  conse- 
quence, that  the  Church  of  Britain  was  fully  established  before  the 
Church  of  Rome.  For  Linus,  the  first  Bishop  of  Rome,  was 
appointed  by  the  joint  authority  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  in  the 
year  of  their  martyrdom,  and  therefore  after  St.  Paul's  return  from 
Britain."2 

"The  British  Church,"  continues  the  same  writer,  "was  never 
theirs  (the  Romanists)  but  by  usurpation.  For,  though  our  Saxon 
ancestors  were  converted  to  Christianity  by  Popish  missionaries, 
yet  at  that  very  period  the  British  Church,  maintaining  herself  in 
the  unconquered  parts  of  the  island,  had  subsisted  from  the  daj"s 
of  her  first  founder,  St.  Paul,  and  distinguished  herself  not  only  by 
her  opposition  to  the  heresy  of  Pelagius,  but  to  the  corruptions  of 
Popery."  8  She  had  every  thing  necessary  or  essential  to  the  being 

1  It  will  be  perceived  that  the  foregoing  quotations  are  very  brief,  and  in 
some  instances  the  substance  of  the  witness's  testimony  given  without  his 
precise  words  —  which  would  have,  if  so  furnished,  to  be  arrayed  in  the 
dress  of  the  ancient  Greek  or  Latin.     For  the  satisfaction  of  those  who 
desire  to  settle  the  question  of  St.  Paul's  preaching  the  Gospel  in  Great 
Britain,  I  would  refer  for  full  information  to  the  Letters  of  Bishop  Burgess 
of  St.  David's   to  his  Clergy,  published   in  the  second  volume  of  "  The 
Churchman  armed  against  the  Errors  of  the  time."     The  point  is  there  set- 
tled, it  seems  to  me,  beyond  controversy. 

2  Bishop  Burgess. 

8  The  following  passage  from  a  letter  of  Bishop  Davies  to  Archbishop 


2.30  Appendix. 

and  perfection  of  a  Church, — doctrine,  discipline,  and  worship, 
dioceses,  bishops,  clerg}^,  sacraments,  rites,  customs,  church-edi- 
fices, and  schools  for  the  instruction  of  her  children.  Nor  let  it  be 
supposed  that  there  existed,  in  what  may  be  called  a  rude  and  bar- 
barous age,  the  mere  "  form  of  godliness  "  in  these  arrangements, 
without  the  manifestation  of  its  power  in  the  principles  and  prac- 
tice of  the  members  of  the  British  Church.  The  following  extract 
from  a  treatise  still  extant,  of  Fastidius,  Bishop  of  London  more 
than  a  hundred  j'ears  before  the  arrival  of  Augustine,  will  show 
that  the  Clergy  of  Britain  not  only  understood  the  genuine  princi- 
ples of  the  Gospel,  but  that  they  also  knew  how  to  inculcate  them 
in  practice :  — 

"It  is  the  will  of  God,  that  His  people  should  be  hoty,  and 
apart  from  all  stain  of  unrighteousness  :  so  righteous,  so  merciful,  so 
pure,  so  unspotted  by  the  world,  so  single-hearted,  that  the  heathen 
should  find  no  fault  in  them,  but  say  with  wonder,  Blessed  is  the 
nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord,  and  the  people  whom  He  hath  chosen 
for  His  inheritance.  We  read  in  the  Evangelist,  that  one  came  to 
our  Saviour,  and  asked  him  what  he  should  do  to  gain  eternal  life. 
The  answer  he  received  was,  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the 
commandments.  Our  Lord  did  not  say,  Keep  faith  only.  For, 
if  faith  is  all  that  is  required,  it  is  overmuch  to  say  that  the  com- 
mandments must  be  kept.  But  far  be  it  from  me  that  I  should 
suppose  my  Lord  to  have  taught  any  thing  overmuch.  Let  this 
be  said  only  by  those  whose  sins  have  numbered  them  with  the 
children  of  perdition. 

"  Let  no  man,  then,  deceive  or  mislead  his  brother.     Except  a 

Parker  contains  a  very  interesting  record  of  the  sentiments  of  tlie  British 
Church:  "  One  notable  story  was  in  the  chronicle;  howe,  after  the  Saxons 
conquered,  coutynewall  warre  rernayned  bytwixt  the  Brittayns  (then  inhab- 
itauntes  of  the  realrae)  and  the  Saxons,  the  Brittayns  beyng  Christians,  and 
the  Saxons  pagan.  As  occasion  served,  they  sometymes  treated  of  peace, 
and  then  mette  together,  and  communed  together,  and  dyd  eate  and  drynk 
together,  but  after  that  by  the  mearies  of  Austen  the  Saxons  became  Chris- 
tians in  such  sort,  as  Austen  had  taught  them,  the  Brittayns  wold  not  after 
that  nether  eate  nor  drynk  wyth  them,  nor  yet  salute  them,  bycause  they 
corrupted  wyth  superstition,  ymages  and  ydolatrie,  the  true  religion  of 
Christ."  —  Churchman  Armed,  etc.,  p.  350. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  231 

man  is  righteous,  he  hath  not  life  ;  except  he  keep  the  command- 
ments of  Christ,  he  hath  no  part  with  him.  A  Christian  is  one 
who  shows  mercy  to  all ;  who  is  provoked  by  no  wrong ;  who 
suffers  not  the  poor  in  this  world  to  be  oppressed  ;  who  relieves 
the  wretched,  succors  the  needy ;  who  mourns  with  mourners,  and 
feels  the  pain  of  another  as  his  own ;  who  is  moved  to  tears  by  the 
sight  of  another's  tears  ;  whose  house  is  open  to  all ;  whose  table 
is  spread  for  all  the  poor  ;  whose  good  deeds  all  men  know  ;  whose 
wrongful  dealing  no  man  feels  ;  who  serves  God  day  and  night, 
and  ever  meditates  upon  His  precepts  ;  who  is  made  poor  to  the 
world,  that  he  may  be  rich  towards  God  ;  who  is  content  to  be 
inglorious  among  men,  that  he  may  appear  glorious  before  God 
and  his  angels ;  who  has  no  deceit  in  his  heart ;  whose  soul  is 
simple  and  undefiled,  and  his  conscience  faithful  and  pure  ;  whose 
whole  mind  rests  on  God ;  whose  whole  hope  is  fixed  on  Christ, 
desiring  heaven!}"  things  rather  than  earthly,  and  leaving  human 
things  to  la}T  hold  on  things  divine."  l 

If  the  foregoing  be  a  fair  specimen  of  the  teaching  of  the  ancient 
British  Church,  we  may  well  conclude  that  the  foundation  of  their 
ecclesiastical  establishment  was  laid  by  a  wise  master-builder ; 
that  "  in  doctrine  they  were  incorrupt,  and  held  the  mystery  of 
faith  in  a  pure  conscience."  It  was  while  the  Christians  of  Britain 
were  ''living  in  all  godly  quietness,"  and,  animated  doubtless  by 
the  constraining  love  of  Christ,  were  pushing  their  missions  into 
the  northern  parts  of  the  island  for  the  conversion  of  the  Picts  and 
Scots,  and  into  Ireland,  that  that  terrible  invasion  of  the  Saxons 
took  place,  which  resulted  in  the  conquest  of  the  country,  and 
well-nigh  the  ruin  of  the  British  Church.  The  Britons,  abandoned 
by  the  Romans,  presented  but  a  feeble  resistance  to  the  veteran  and 
disciplined  battalions  of  the  Saxons,  led  on  by  daring  spirits, 
and  animated  by  the  hope  of  plunder.  All  the  eastern,  southern, 
and  midland  districts  were  in  a  short  time  overrun  and  in  posses- 
sion of  the  invaders ;  and  the  unhappy  Britons,  driven  from  their 
homes,  were  forced  to  seek  refuge  in  France  or  in  the  mountainous 
and  inaccessible  parts  of  Wales  and  Cornwall.  Here  history 

1  Churton's  Early  English  Church,  pp.  29,  30. 


232  Appendix. 

represents  them  as  sternly  maintaining  for  a  long  time  their  inde- 
pendence, and,  what  is  equally  honorable  to  their  character,  as 
faithfully  adhering  to  the  principles  and  practice  of  the  faith  which 
they  had  received  from  the  founders  of  their  Church.  It  was  in 
this  condition,  about  the  year  590,  that  Augustine  found  them. 
He  had  come  on  a  mission  from  Gregory,  Bishop  of  Rome,  to 
attempt  the  conversion  of  the  Saxons  ;  and  well  indeed  had  it  been 
if  he  had  confined  his  views  and  efforts  to  this  single  object,  instead 
of  attempting,  as  he  did  subsequently,  to  establish  a  spiritual 
supremacy  alike  unknown  and  repugnant  to  the  practice  and  feel- 
ings of  the  British  Christians.  Augustine  and  his  company  came 
first  to  the  court  of  King  Ethelbert  at  Canterbury,  whose  queen, 
Bertha,  was  a  Christian,  who  had  brought  with  her  from  France 
a  Bishop  by  name  Liudhard  or  Lithardus,  as  her  instructor  in  the 
faith  of  the  Gospel.  He  had,  for  many  }Tears  previous  to  the  arri- 
val of  Augustine,  preached  and  administered  the  rites  of  our  holy 
religion  in  the  Church  of  St.  Martin's,  near  to  Canterbury,  a  ven- 
erable pile  which  yet  survives,  sacred  alike  for  its  antiquity  and 
for  its  associations  with  the  early  establishment  of  Christianity  in 
Britain.  To  the  piety  and  hospitality  of  Liudhard,  Augustine  was 
indebted  for  his  first  night's  entertainment  at  Canterbury.  Within 
a  little  more  than  a  }rear  after  this  time,  Augustine  received  conse- 
cration at  the  hands  of  Vigil,  Archbishop  of  Aries,  and  Etherius, 
Bishop  of  Lyons  in  France,  and,  returning  to  Canterbury,  was 
invested  with  the  pall l  from  Gregory  of  Rome  as  an  Archbishop. 
Here  was  the  beginning  of  that  assumption  of  author^  which  the 
successors  of  Gregor}^  the  Popes  of  Rome,  have  since  claimed  to 
exercise  over  the  British  Church.  It  has  never  been  pretended, 
even,  that  Augustine  received  his  spiritual  authority  as  a  Bishop 

1  The  pall  (pallium)  was  sent  by  the  Bishops  of  Rome  to  the  Metropol- 
itans and  other  chief  Bishops  of  the  West,  at  or  after  their  consecration,  in 
token  of  their  recognition  of  them  as  lawfully  invested  with  their  office. 
Though  it  was  for  several  age*  only  a  sign  of  fraternal  regard,  and  a  pledge 
of  intercommunion,  it  came  at  length  (when  the  honorary  primacy  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  had  gradually  been  changed  into  a  supremacy  of  power)  to 
be  regarded  as  a  necessary  preliminary  to  the  exercise  of  jurisdiction  by  a 
newly  consecrated  Bishop. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  233 

by  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Gregory.  All  histor}7  testifies 
that  he  was  consecrated  by  the  Archbishop  of  Aries,  a  see  at  that 
time  independent  of  Rome ;  and  consequently  the  line  of  succes- 
sion among  the  English  bishops,  if  traced  through  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  conducts  not  to  Rome,  but  to  Aries,  and  thence  to 
Lyons,  thence  to  Smyrna,  where  Poly  carp  presided  as  Bishop,  and 
from  him  to  St.  John  at  Ephesus.1 

Even  the  public  forms  of  religion,  as  then  introduced  and  estab- 
lished, were  not  taken  from  the  Mass-book,  as  the  Romanists 
boast,  and  dissenters  ignorantly  believe ;  but  in  the  portions  yet 
retained  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  were  older  than  the  begin- 
ning of  the  corrupt  doctrine  of  the  mass.  Gregory,  so  far  from 
requiring  Augustine  to  observe  the  service  used  at  Rome,  expressly 
charges  him  to  search  diligently  for  what  might  be  more  edifying 
in  other  churches ;  referring  him  especially  to  the  old  Church  of 
Gaul,  which  was  closely  united  in  faith  and  practice  with  the  old 
British  or  Welsh  Church.  u  We  are  not  to  love  customs,"  said 
he,  "on  account  of  the  places  from  which  they  come ;  but  let  us 
love  all  places  where  good  customs  are  observed.  Choose  there- 
fore from  every  Church  whatever  is  pious,  religious,  and  well- 
ordered  ;  and  when  you  have  made  a  bundle  of  good  rules,  leave 
them  for  your  best  legacy  to  the  English."  Neither  did  Gregory 
claim  to  exercise  the  powers  which  have  been  so  arrogantly  and 
without  right  or  reason  contended  for  as  the  prerogative  of  his 
successors.  For,  in  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Bishop 
of  Constantinople,  he  asserted  that  u  whosoever  claims  the  univer- 
sal Episcopate  is  the  forerunner  of  Antichrist."  Ah!  he  little 
imagined  that  he  was  then  uttering  a  sentiment  which  in  after-ages 

1  The  Churches  in  Asia  (of  which  Ephesus  and  Smyrna,  the  sees  of  St. 
John  and  St.  Polycarp,  were  the  chief)  sent  a  mission  to  Gaul,  about  the 
middle  of  the  second  century,  under  Photinus,  who  became  Bishop  of  Lyons, 
and  was  succeeded  by  St.  Irenseus.  This  mission  established,  if  it  did  not 
found,  the  Church  in  Gaul;  and  perpetuated  in  that  country,  not  only  the 
apostolic  succession  in  the  time  of  St.  John,  but  also  the  Asiatic  Liturgy 
and  usages;  until  the  intimate  connection  between  Rome  and  Gaul,  which 
was  cemented  by  the  Carlovingian  dynasty  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centu- 
ries, enabled  the  Popes  to  substitute  gradually  the  Roman  Liturgy  and 
customs  for  the  Gallican. 


234:  Appendix. 

would  apply  with  marvellous  directness  to  his  successors.  For  the 
Popes  of  Rome  to  this  day  claim  the  universal  Episcopate,  and  so 
fall  under  the  heavy  condemnation  and  withering  rebuke  of  their 
illustrious  predecessor. 

Augustine  had  not  long  exercised  his  Episcopal  authority  in 
England,  before  he  proposed,  and  through  Ethelbert  succeeded  in, 
bringing  the  British  Bishops  to  a  conference.  In  this  interview 
the  Archbishop  of  Cambria  (Wales),  seven  Bishops,  and  a  consid- 
erable number  of  other  British  Clergy,  were  present.  Augustine 
proposed  to  them  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  over  their  branch  of  the  Catholic  Church,  to  conform  to  the 
Romish  custom  of  keeping  Easter,1  to  use  the  Romish  forms  and 
ceremonies  in  celebrating  the  rite  of  baptism,  and  to  join  the  Ro- 
man missionaries  in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Saxons.  To  these 
demands  they  returned  a  firm  and  decided  negative,  positively 
refusing  to  acknowledge  Augustine  as  their  Archbishop.  The 
answer  of  Dunod,  the  Abbot  of  Bangor,  clearly  vindicates  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  British  Church,  and  shows  that  the  idea  of  Roman 
supremac}T  was  not  tolerated  fora  moment.  u  We  are  bound," 
said  he,  "  to  serve  the  Church  of  God,  and  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
and  eveiy  godly  Christian,  as  far  as  keeping  them  in  offices  of  love 
and  charity :  this  service  we  are  ready  to  pay ;  but  more  than 
this  I  do  not  know  to  be  due  to  him  or  any  other.  We  have  a 
primate  of  our  own,  who  is  to  oversee  us  under  God,  and  to  keep 
us  in  the  way  of  spiritual  life."  This  answer,  given  in  the  genuine 

1  "  The  British  Church  at  this  time  kept  their  Easter  Day  on  a  Sunday, 
from  the  fourteenth  to  the  twentieth  day  of  the  paschal  moon  inclusive ; 
whereas  the  Roman  Church  kept  it  on  the  Sunday  which  fell  between 
the  fifteenth  and  twenty-first.  The  rule  of  the  Church  laid  down  at  the 
Council  of  Nice,  A.D.  325,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  that 
Easter  should  be  kept  on  the  first  Sunday  after  the  full  moon  next  following 
the  twenty -first  day  of  March.  Some  old  Churches  of  the  East  had  kept  it 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon,  which  was  the  day  of  the  Jew's  Pass- 
over, on  whatever  day  of  the  week  it  fell.  The  Britons  seem  to  have  had 
this  custom,  which  they  supposed  to  be  observed  in  the  Churches  founded 
by  St.  John  in  Asia;  but  after  the  Council  of  Nice,  wishing  to  correct  their 
practice,  they  had  still  begun  one  day  too  soon."  — CHUKTON'S  Early  Eng- 
lish Church,  p.  44,  New- York  edition. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  235 

spirit  of  Catholic  independence,  fully  confirms  the  truth  of  Sir 
William  Blackstone's  remark,  that  "  the  ancient  British  Church, 
by  whomsoever  founded,  was  a  stranger  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  and 
his  pretended  authority."  "  Britain  knew  not  that  the  message 
from  Rome  was  the  forerunner  of  forcing  away  that  independence, 
of  which  the  bare  asking  would  not  gain  the  surrender  :  and  though 
from  this  time  onward  to  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church  of  Britain  fought  inch  by  inch  for  that  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  had  made  her  free,  what  could  she  do?  The  student  of 
these  times  knows  full  well  the  feeble  condition  of  the  Britons 
invaded  by  the  Pagan  Saxons."  The  slaughter  of  twelve  hundred 
ecclesiastics  at  one  time,  on  the  borders  of  Wales,  by  Ethelfrid, 
King  of  Northumberland,  not  without  suspicion  that  Augustine 
himself  was  privy  to  the  relentless  massacre,  furnishes  melancholy 
evidence  of  the  hapless  condition  of  the  Britons.  "The  British 
Church  could  not  but  be  depressed  when  her  sons  suffered.  What 
then,  could  she  do  in  this  situation,  when,  in  addition  to  the  attacks 
of  the  Saxon,  the  arm  of  the  Italian  Church  was  stretched  forth  not 
to  assist,  but  (as  it  finally  turned  out)  to  crush  and  enslave  her? 
Does  any  one  say  the  British  Church  could  at  least  protest  ?  Ay  ! 
and  so  she  did,  most  manfully  and  boldly.  Her  voice  was  heard, 
in  the  persons  of  her  Bishops,  her  Clergy,1  and  her  laity,  protest- 

1  The  following  declaration  and  protest  of  the  Clergy  of  Berkshire,  1240, 
will  prove,  that,  however  the  fire  of  Christian  liberty  may  have  been  smoth- 
ered in  that  dark  period  of  the  world's  history,  it  was  very  far  from  being 
extinct:  — 

"The  Rectors  of  Churches  in  Berkshire,  all  and  each,  say  thus:  — 

"  First,  That  it  is  not  lawful  to  contribute  money  to  support  a  man  against 
the  emperor;  for,  though  the  Pope  has  excommunicated  him,  he  has  not 
been  convicted  or  condemned  as  a  heretic  by  any  sentence  of  the  Church. 
And  if  he  has  seized  or  invaded  the  estates  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  still  it  is 
not  lawful  for  the  Church  to  resist  force  by  force. 

"Secondly,  That  as  the  Roman  Church  has  its  own  estates,  the  manage- 
ment of  which  belongs  to  the  lord  Pope,  so  have  other  Churches  theirs, 
granted  them  by  gift  and  allowance  of  pious  kings,  princes,  and  noblemen; 
which  in  no  respect  are  liable  to  pay  tax  or  tribute  to  the  Church  of  Rome. 

"Thirdly,  Although  the  law  says,  all  things  belong  to  the  prince,  this 
does  not  mean  that  they  are  part  of  his  property  and  domain,  but  are  under 
his  care  and  charge;  and  in  like  manner  the  Churches  belong  to  the  lord 


236  Appendix. 

ing  against  the  usurpation  of  Rome,  from  its  commencement  in  the 
sixth  century  up  to  its  close  in  the  sixteenth." 

"The  British  Church  produced  a  noble  array  of  divines  from 
Dinoth  (Dunod)  of  Bangor,  to  Cranmer  of  Canterburj',  who  from 
time  to  time  did  all  they  could  to  resist  the  uncanonical  and  anti- 
catholic  usurpation  of  her  spiritual  rights  ;  but  for  centuries  it  was 
all  in  vain.  They  could  only  stave  off  the  evil  day  for  a  time  ;  and 
at  length,  about  the  end  of  the  Norman  conquest,  the  Catholic 
Church  of  Britain,  planted  by  Apostolic  hands,  was  completely 
forced  beneath  the  feet  of  her  unnatural  and  ambitious  sister,  the 
Church  of  Rome.  With  her  religion  went  her  political  glory.  And 
methinks  the  hot  blood  of  virtuous  indignation  must  now  crimson 
the  cheek  of  England's  sons,  when  they  look  back  to  those  times 
that  saw  their  soil,  like  their  Church,  under  the  thraldom  of  an 
Italian  Bishop !  when  their  monarchs,  the  second  Henry  and  his 
son  (out  upon  such  drivelling  cowards  !),  disgraced  their  own  and 
their  country's  name,  the  first  by  baring  his  back  to  be  scourged  by 

Pope  as  to  care  and  charge,  not  as  to  dominion  and  property.  And  when 
Christ  said,  'Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  will  I  build  my  Church,' 
he  committed  only  the  charge,  and  not  the  property,  to  Peter,  as  is  plain 
from  the  following  words,  '  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  and  loose  upon  earth, 
shall  be  bound  or  loosed  in  heaven : '  not,  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  exact  on 
earth  shall  be  exacted  in  heaven. 

"  Fourthly,  Inasmuch  as  it  is  plain  from  the  authority  of  the  Fathers,  that 
the  income  of  Churches  is  appointed  for  certain  uses,  as  for  the  Church,  the 
Ministers,  and  the  poor,  it  ought  not  to  be  turned  to  other  uses  but  by 
the  authority  of  the  whole  Church.  Least  of  all  ought  the  goods  of  the 
Church  to  be  taken  to  maintain  war  against  Christians. 

"Fifthly,  That  the  king  and  nobles  of  England,  by  inheritance  and  good 
custom,  have  the  right  of  patronage  over  the  Churches  of  England;  and  the 
Hectors,  holding  livings  under  their  patronage,  cannot  admit  a  custom 
hurtful  to  their  property  without  their  leave. 

"Sixthly,  That  Churches  were  endowed,  that  Rectors  might  afford  hos- 
pitality to  rich  and  poor  according  to  their  means;  and  if  the  intention  of 
patrons  is  thus  frustrated,  they  will  not  in  future  build  or  found  Churches, 
or  be  willing  to  give  away  livings. 

"  Seventhly,  That  the  Pope  promised,  when  he  first  asked  for  a  contribu- 
tion, never  to  repeat  his  demand ;  and  that,  as  a  repeated  act  makes  a  cus- 
tom, this  second  contribution  will  be  drawn  into  an  unusual  and  slavish 
precedent."  —  CHURTON,  pp.  319,  320. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  237 

the  meek  and  unassuming  successor  of  the  fisherman,  and  the  last 
by  humbly  laying  the  crown  of  England  at  the  footstool  of  the 
Pope's  legate !  " 

"There  was  not,  however,  this  pusillanimous  submission  on  the 
part  of  the  spiritual  sons  of  England.1  They  never,  —  no,  not 
from  the  da}rs  of  St.  Paul  up  to  his  successors,  the  English  Bishops 
of  this  day,  —  the}'  never  yet  yielded  up  the  mitre  of  catholic 
independence  into  the  hands  of  the  usurping  Romans.  The  Church 
of  Britain  was  forced,  it  is  true,  to  bow  her  head  for  a  time  ;  but 
her  heart  was  as  unbending  as  the  gnarled  oaks  of  her  own  native 
forests." 

"  Dinoth  of  Bangor  is  witness  ;  Bishop  Daganus  is  a  later  wit- 
ness, for  he  would  not  eat  at  the  same  table,  no,  nor  in  the  same 
house,  with  these  Roman  schismatics.2  The  King  and  Clergy  of 
Northumberland  are  still  later  witnesses,  for  they  treated  with  con- 
tempt the  papal  mandate  to  restore  his  deposed  Bishop,  Wilfrid. 
And  there  was  the  giant  arm  of  Wicklifle  raised  in  later  days,  and 
noble  was  the  blow  he  struck.  And  when  he  died  in  1384,  he 
bade  by  his  example  his  followers,  the  old  Catholics  of  Britain, 
the  members  of  this  Church  of  the  living  God,  never  to  cease  till 
their  protestations  terminated  in  action,  and  they  had  ejected  that 
schismatic  intruder  who  had  placed  his  foot  on  their  shores  in  596. 

1  William  of  Corboil,  a  French  priest,  elevated  to  the  see  of  Canterbury, 
contrary  to  law  and  custom,  and  by  intrigue,  was  the  first  ecclesiastic  that 
attempted  to  betray  the  independence  of  the  English  Church.     Up  to  this 
time  (1125)  the  Pope  had  no  jurisdiction  in  England.     The  Church  was 
under  a  head  of  its  own,  governed  by  the  king  in  temporal  matters,  and  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  spiritual.     William  of  Corboil  made  the 
primacy  of  England  consist  in  acting  as  the  Pope's  deputy.     The  Church 
and  nation  were  far  from  quietly  yielding  to  his  measures.     The  writers  of 
the  time  never  speak  of  William  of  Corboil  without  expressing  contempt  for 
his  meanness;  and  his  name  became  a  standing  jest  in  merry  old  England. 
"  He  ought  not  to  be  called  William  of  Corboil,"  says  John  Bromton,  Abbot 
of  Jorval,  "  but  William  of  Turmoil."     "  Truly  I  would  speak  his  praises  if 
I  could,"  says  Henry,  Archdeacon  of  Huntingdon,  "  but  they  are  beyond 
expression,  for  no  man  has  yet  discovered  them."  —  CHURTON,  pp.  266,  268. 

2  "  Nam  Daganus  Episcopus  ad  nos  veniens  non  solum  cibum  nobiscum, 
sed  nee  in  eodem  hospitio,  quo  vescebamur,  suinere  voluit."  — BEDE,  L.  ii. 
c.  4. 


238  Appendix. 

The}'  never  did  cease.1  Wickliffe's  followers,  known  in  history 
under  the  name  of  Lollards,  kept  up  the  protest  which  Dinoth  of 
Bangor  had  raised,  and  which  each  succeeding  age  found  bold  and 
faithful  spirits  to  prolong.  The  stake  was  prepared  for  them  ;  but 
in  vain,  for  they  burnt  at  the  stake,  yet  were  true  to  the  Catholic 
Faith.  There  is  the  bloody  act  of  1399,  by  which  they  were  burnt, 
and  the  names  of  many  of  the  noble  sufferers  on  whom  it  took 
effect ;  but  it  all  would  not  do.  The  flame  lighted  up  Britain  :  it 
spread  to  Smithfield,  and  added  brightness  to  the  death-light  of 
Cranmer  and  his  brother  martyrs.  It  spread  till  it  reached  the 
Continent ;  and  Luther  abroad,  as  well  as  the  Catholics  in  Britain 
(Cranmer,  Ridley,  and  Latimer),  were  nerved  by  the  spirit  of 
Wickliffe." 

"But  now  came  the  time  when  the  old  and  oppressed  Church 
of  Britain  was  able,  as  she  had  all  along  been  willing,  to  eject  the 
intruding  and  hence  schismatic  Church  of  Rome.  Four  centuries 
had  witnessed  her  struggles  in  vindication  of  religious  freedom ; 
and  now  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  the  day  came  when  the 
prophetic  words  of  the  d}'ing  Grostete  were  to  receive  their  fulfil- 
ment, and  the  Church  of  England  "  was  set  free  from  the  Egyp- 
tian bondage"  under  which  she  groaned,  "by  the  edge  of  a 
blood-stained  sword." 

"The  Bishop  of  Italy,"  continues  the  eloquent  divine2  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  of  the  preceding  observations, 
"  the  Bishop  of  Italy,  called  the  Pope,  had  no  more  right  in  Great 
Britain  than  he  had  in  these  United  States  of  America ;  and  he  has 
about  as  much  right  to  spiritual  supremacj'  in  either,  as  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  or  the  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania  has  in  Italy." 

1  GrostSte,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  Sewel,  Archbishop  of  York,  may  be 
instanced  among  many  other  illustrious  examples  of  resistance  to  the  claims 
of  papal  domination.     The  former,  in  the  close  of  his  letter  to  the  Pope, 
employs   the   following  strong  and  emphatic  language:   "Since  the  com- 
mands I  have  received  are  so  contrary  to  the  holiness  of  the  Apostolic  see, 
destructive  to  the  souls  of  men,  and  against  the  Catholic  Faith,  —  the  very 
spirit  of  unity,  the  love  of  a  son,  and  the  obedience  of  a  subject,  command 
me  to  rebel."  — CHUBTON,  p.  329. 

2  Rev.  William  H.  Odeuheimer,  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadel- 
phia. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  239 

"When,  therefore,  the  Bishop  of  Italy  sent  his  messenger, 
Augustine,  in  the  sixth  century,  to  ask  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Britain  to  submit  to  him,  and,  this  being  indignantly  refused,  he 
in  after  days  forced  that  submission,  and  by  intrigue  and  treach- 
ery usurped  her  rights,  there  was  no  more  than  sheer  justice 
returned,  when  the  British  Church  had  the  power,  as  she  had  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  to  eject  the  intruder,  soul  and  body,  and 
send  the  writ  of  ejectment  by  the  hands  of  her  lawful  Bishops, 
Cranmer,  Ridley,  and  Latimer.  And  this  she  did  orderly,  legally, 
canonically,  completely.  Ah !  the  British  Church  never  forgot 
the  year  596,  —  no,  not  when  her  temples  were  overrun  with  for- 
eign priests,  her  altars  served  by  alien  hands,  and  her  property 
devoured  by  alien  mouths.  She  never  forgot  that  year,  though 
ten  centuries  had  rolled  round,  during  which  she  could  only  ex- 
press her  remembrance  by  strong  protestations  and  ineffectual 
efforts.  She  never  forgot  that  year ;  and  when  the  eighth  Henry 
blotted  out  the  pusillanimity  of  the  second  by  proclaiming, 
through  the  legal  voice  of  the  realm,  the  independence  of  our 
mother-land  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  methinks  the  shades  of 
Dinoth,  with  the  other  Clergy  who  met  the  monk  Augustine  in  the 
sixth  century,  the  shades  of  Wickliffe  and  his  martyred  followers 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  clustered  around  Cranmer  and  his 
brothers  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  watched  with  an  English 
Churchman's  interest  the  royal  signature  which  cancelled  forever 
(God  grant  it  be  so !)  the  foulest  blot  that  ever  stained  England's 
cross,  political  or  religious.  From  that  period  (the  Reformation 
in  the  sixteenth  century),  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  —  the 
Church  of  St.  Paul,  —  the  old  British  Church,  in  her  purity,  in 
her  zeal,  faith,  and  charity,  has  been  the  boast  and  blessing  of 
the  land  of  our  fathers.  May  the  fires  of  Smithtield  be  again  kin- 
dled, and  her  children,  to  a  man,  burn  and  die  at  the  stake,  before 
they  3*ield  up  the  trust  of  Catholic  independence,  and  suffer  the 
disgrace  of  England's  Church  to  be  told  in  her  submission  to  a 
Bishop  of  Italy!" 

From  the  Church  of  England,  thus  rescued  from  the  domina- 
tion of  Rome  during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  again  deliv- 
ered, after  a  temporary  depression,  under  "the  bloody  Mary," 


240  Appendix. 

and  purified  and  established  in  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  and  once 
more  restored  from  the  desolations  which  swept  like  a  flood  over, 
her  under  the  iron  rule  of  Cromwell  the  Protector ;  from  this 
Church,  like  Israel  of  old,  with  Amalekites  smiting  her  in  the  face 
and  fiery  serpents  stinging  at  her  feet,  but  still  holding  her  onward 
way,  ever  looking  to  her  glorious  Head  for  guidance  and  protec- 
tion ;  from  this  Church,  the  uncompromising  asserter  of  Catholic 
verity,  the  acknowledged  bulwark  of  Protestant  principles,  the 
dispenser,  at  this  day,  through  her  eighteen  thousand  Clergymen, 
of  the  bread  of  life  to  the  men  of  ever}T  clime  and  every  complex- 
ion ;  from  this  Church,  upon  the  labors  of  whose  missionaries  the 
sun  never  sets,  whose  zeal  the  fire  cannot  destroy  nor  the  floods 
quench, — from  this  Church,  blessed  of  God  and  blessing  man,  is 
derived  the  ministerial  authority  by  which  you  have  been  brought 
into  the  visible  fold  of  Christ,  made  members  of  his  "  one  body," 
and  united  to  the  Ever-living  Head.  For  such  grace,  mercy,  and 
privilege,  God's  holy  name  be  ever  blessed ;  and  to  Him,  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be  ascribed  all  honor,  praise,  and 
glory,  world  without  end  !  Amen. 

SERMON  II. 

"But  we  desire  to  hear  of  Thee  what  Thou  thinkest:  for  as  concerning 
this  sect,  we  know  that  everywhere  it  is  spoken  against."  — ACTS  xxviii.  22. 

Such,  brethren,  was  the  reply  of  the  Jews  at  Rome,  to  the 
address  of  St.  Paul,  when  he  was  sent  a  prisoner  from  Jerusalem 
to  appear  before  Caesar.  To  save  his  life  he  had  appealed  to  the 
highest  tribunal  known  to  the  laws  of  the  empire,  and,  after  vari- 
ous vicissitudes  by  land  and  by  sea,  at  length  found  himself  within 
the  walls  of  the  imperial  city.  That  his  cause  might  not  be  preju- 
diced by  the  clamors  of  his  own  countrymen,  whom  he  knew  by 
past  experience  to  be  opposed  to  the  religion  which  he  taught,  he 
assembled  the  chief  of  the  Jews,  a  few  days  after  his  arrival,  and 
stated  to  them  the  cause  of  his  coming :  namely,  that  being  deliv- 
ered into  the  hands  of  the  Romans,  though  guilty  of  no  crime, 
and  about  to  be  set  at  liberty  because  no  cause  of  death  was  found 
in  him,  the  Jews  nevertheless  spake  against  it ;  wherefore  he  was 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  241 

constrained  to  appeal  unto  Caesar.  "  Not  that  I  had  aught  to 
accuse  my  nation  of,"  said  he:  u  for  this  cause  therefore  have  I 
called  for  you,  to  see  you,  and  to  speak  with  you :  because  that 
for  the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this  chain.  And  they  said 
unto  him,  We  neither  received  letters  out  of  Judaea  concerning 
thee,  neither  any  of  the  brethren  that  came  showed  or  spake  any 
harm  of  thee.  But  we  desire  to  hear  of  thee  what  thou  thinkest ; 
for  as  concerning  this  sect,  we  know  that  everywhere  it  is  spoken 
against." 

By  "  this  sect,"  is  undoubtedly  meant  the  sect  of  the  Naza- 
renes,  or  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  the  Christian  religion 
as  taught  by  St.  Paul  and  the  other  Apostles,  which  everywhere 
excited  the  opposition  and  the  enmity  of  the  Jews,  and  indeed, 
generally,  of  all  the  nations  to  whom  it  was  first  preached.  It 
was  a  religion  of  mortification  and  self-denial,  which  inculcated 
internal  purity  and  moral  rectitude ;  a  religion  that  called  for  the 
exercise  of  constant  vigilance  over  the  thoughts,  no  less  than  a 
watchful  circumspection  of  the  conduct,  that  rendered  it  the  object 
of  almost  universal  dislike  and  aversion.  Striking  at  the  roots  of 
temporal  ambition,  it  contradicted  the  fondly  cherished  notions 
of  the  Jew  in  reference  to  national  glory  and  exaltation :  hence  it 
was  to  him  a  stumbling-block  and  a  stone  of  offence.  Pronoun- 
cing of  the  heathen  gods  that  they  were  dumb  idols,  —  that  the 
worship  offered  to  them  was  not  only  vain,  but  an  abomination 
to  the  true  God,  who  would  call  them  into  judgment  for  this 
perversion  of  their  reason,  —  it  seemed  to  the  Gentile  a  system 
of  arrogance  and  presumption,  and  he  rejected  it  as  foolishness. 
Neither  Jew  nor  Gentile  in  that  age  had  any  relish  for  the  hum- 
bling doctrines  of  the  Cross.  Its  charity  was  opposed  to  their 
pride ;  its  humility  seemed  to  them  meanness ;  its  temperance, 
ingratitude  to  Providence  in  not  partaking  of  its  bounties  ;  and  its 
glorious  promises,  as  the  wild  dreams  of  fanaticism.  Its  simple 
rites  and  worship,  giving  expression  to  the  devout  feelings  of  the 
heart,  had  nothing  in  them  attractive  to  the  unrenewed  mind  of 
man,  when  set  in  contrast  with  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  the 
Jewish  ritual  or  the  magnificence  and  pomp  and  splendor  of  Roman 
worship.  It  can  be  no  cause  of  wonder,  then,  that  everywhere  it 


242  Appendix. 

was  spoken  against.  Yet  it  was  the  truth  of  God,  and  the  wis- 
dom of  God,  and  the  power  of  God.  Such  it  has  proved  itself  to 
be,  b}T  eighteen  centuries  of  endurance  against  the  natural  hatred 
of  mankind,  by  dispelling  the  darkness  of  ignorance  wherever  its 
glorious  light  has  shined  upon  our  earth,  and  by  subduing  the 
understandings  of  millions  to  the  dominion  of  truth,  and  their 
hearts  to  the  reign  of  happiness  and  peace.  It  would  be  interest- 
ing, brethren,  to  trace  this  religion  from  its  implantation  in  various 
countries  by  the  labors  of  the  Apostles,  and  show  how  it  has  ever}- 
where  encountered  opposition,  and  survived  not  only  the  overthrow 
of  kingdoms,  states,  and  empires,  but  the  passing-away  of  entire 
races  and  whole  nations  of  men.  It  is  destined,  perhaps,  to 
encounter  yet  severer  trials  in  its  onward  progress  to  universal 
dominion  ;  but,  sure  as  Heaven's  truth,  it  will  put  down  all  oppo- 
sition, and  at  last  reign  without  a  rival  in  our  world. 

But  I  have  selected  this  text  not  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
the  grounds  of  opposition  to  Christianity  originally.  They  present 
to  our  minds  a  very  striking  analogy  in  the  position  which  the 
Church  occupies  towards  the  world  at  the  present  day,  and  the 
character  of  the  opposition  which  is  arrayed  against  her.  It  is 
our  purpose  to  inquire  why  she  is  everywhere  spoken  against,  and 
whether  opposition  to  her  is  not  wilful  or  blind  opposition  against 
Christianity  itself. 

The  first  charge  brought  against  the  Church  is  exclusiveness  of 
ministerial  authority.  If  our  claims  upon  the  subject  of  the  Min- 
istry be  admitted,  say  those  who  have  separated  themselves  from 
our  Communion,  then  they  are  in  schism.  But,  as  there  are  con- 
fessedly a  great  many  pious  people  who  are  not  Episcopalians,  it 
would  be  very  uncharitable  and  illiberal  to  say  that  they  were 
guilty  of  schism ;  and  we  ought  therefore  to  admit  the  validity  of 
their  orders. 

Now,  we  have  stated  the  objection  as  it  is  commonly  made ; 
and  let  us  meet  it  fairly,  and  take,  at  the  beginning,  all  the  odium 
which  usually  attaches  to  the  denial  of  its  force  and  justice. 

We  ask,  Do  piety  and  learning  and  gifts,  of  themselves,  impart 
the  power  of  Orders?  It  is  not  so  pretended.  Why  will  not  a 
pious  man  receive  the  sacraments  of  a  pious  man  simply  because 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  243 

he  is  pious  or  learned,  or  possessed  of  aptness  to  teach?  It  is 
answered,  Because  he  has  not  been  ordained.  Ordination,  then, 
it  is  clear,  confers  authority  which  is  altogether  separate  and  dis- 
tinct from  qualifications  for  office.  Thus  we  say  that  a  man  ought 
to  be  pious  and  learned,  and  apt  to  teach,  in  order  to  receive  ordi- 
nation, and  that  he  may  exercise  his  ministry  profitably  and  to 
edification.  But  he  may  be  ever  so  pious  and  learned,  and  apt 
to  teach,  and  yet  be  no  Minister.  Just  so  a  lawyer  may  be  just  and 
upright,  and  learned  in  the  law,  and  yet  not  be  in  the  office  of  a 
judge.  Qualification  for  office  is  one  thing :  authority  to  fill  the 
office  and  exercise  its  functions  is  quite  another  and  different 
thing. 

If  ordination,  then,  confers  a  power  and  authority  distinct  alto- 
gether from  the  qualifications  for  office,  is  it  unreasonable  to  ask 
and  to  demand  the  proof,  whence  that  power  and  authority  are 
derived?  Would  you  permit  any  man  by  his  decision  to  divest 
3'ou  of  your  rights  and  propert}',  under  the  name  of  law,  unless 
you  were  satisfied  that  he  possessed  the  power  and  authority  of 
a  judge?  And  why,  then,  should  you  allow  any  one  to  minister 
to  you  the  sacraments  of  religion,  unless  convinced  that  he  was 
invested  with  ministerial  authority?  Now,  here  is  the  precise  line 
of  difference  between  us  and  surrounding  denominations  whose 
piety  and  learning,  and  ability  to  instruct,  we  do  not  deny.  We 
ask,  Whence  your  authority  to  act  as  Ministers  of  religion?  Can 
you  show  that  it  is  derived  from  Christ  and  His  Apostles  ?  If  this 
can  be  shown,  there  is  an  end  at  once,  on  our  part,  of  all  objection 
to  the  orders  of  dissenters  ;  and  we  are  more  than  ready  to  receive 
their  ministrations.  But,  if  this  cannot  be  shown,  what  else  is  the 
charge  of  exclusiveness  brought  against  the  Church  but  a  charge 
against  the  institution  of  Christ? 

As,  then,  ordination  is  necessary  to  confer  ministerial  authority, 
and  it  is  so  acknowledged,  the  question  at  once  arises,  How  is  the 
power  of  ordination  to  be  proved?  We  answer,  that  originally 
the  authority  to  act  in  the  name  of  Christ,  in  the  appointments  of 
religion,  was  certified  to  the  world  by  miracles.  When  the  Apos- 
tles and  other  first  teachers  of  Christianity  travelled  into  various 
countries  in  fulfilment  of  the  work  with  which  they  were  charged, 


244  Appendix. 

they  spake  with  tongues,  they  healed  the  sick,  they  cast  out  devils, 
they  raised  the  dead,  and  performed  other  and  wonderful  works ; 
all  of  which  were  conclusive  evidence  to  men  that  they  were  com- 
missioned from  on  high.  And  at  this  day,  if  any  one  came  to  us 
bearing  these  unquestionable  credentials,  these  impressive  marks 
of  Heaven's  acknowledgment,  there  is  not  one  of  us  that  would 
demand  any  further  proof  of  his  authority.  But  as  these  proofs  of 
the  ministerial  power  are  no  longer  vouchsafed,  as  miracles  have 
long  since  ceased,  how  shall  the  authority  of  the  Christian  Ministry 
be  certified  and  proven  in  any  other  way  than  by  showing  its 
transmission  from  the  original  root  ?  Fruitful  as  the  mind  of  man 
is  in  devising  expedients  to  meet  a  difficult  case,  no  other  than 
this  method,  to  prove  a  succession  in  the  Ministry,  has  ever  been 
attempted  b}T  any,  except  by  those  who  deny  that  there  is  any 
Ministry  at  all  established  for  the  perpetual  edification  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Church.  But  there  is  a  plain,  common-sense  view  to 
be  taken  of  this  subject,  which,  seems  to  me,  will  convince  any 
one  of  unprejudiced  mind,  not  only  that  a  Ministry  was  established 
by  Christ,  but  that  it  must  of  necessity  have  been  continued  all 
along  to  the  present  day,  and  will  be  perpetuated  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  For,  first  of  all,  Christ  constituted  a  Ministrj*,  commission- 
ing the  Apostles,  before  a  Church  was  gathered,  before  the  New 
Testament  or  an}*  part  of  it  was  written,  and  before  an}r  Christian 
rite  or  sacrament  was  administered.  His  words  to  the  Apostles 
are:  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go 
3re  therefore,  and  teach  [or,  make  disciples  of]  all  nations,  baptiz- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world/*1 

This  declaration  that  He  would  be  with  them  to  the  end  of  the 
world  conveys  an  assurance,  as  definite  as  language  can  well 
express  it,  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  Christian  Ministry.  But,  with- 
out dwelling  on  an  interpretation  which  appears  sufficiently  obvious, 
we  remark  that  the  commission  enjoins  the  performance  of  positive 

1  St.  Matt,  xxviii.  18-20. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  245 

and  explicit  duties ;  namely,  to  baptize,  and  teach  all  things  what- 
soever He  had  commanded  them.  We  know  most  assuredly  that 
the  Apostles  did  baptize,  and  did  administer  the  Lord's  Supper. 
Were  not  these  sacraments  to  be  of  perpetual  obligation?  Can 
any  doubt  that  they  have  been  observed  in  every  age  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  to  the  present  day?  Corrupted  as  they  may  have 
been,  and  undoubtedly  were  ;  overloaded  and  obscured  in  their 
obvious  purpose  and  design  as  they  have  been,  by  the  superstitious 
additions  of  man's  presuming  wisdom,  —  is  it  not  undeniably  true, 
that  they  have  been  celebrated  in  every  country  where  the  religion 
of  Christ  has  been  professed,  for  the  last  eighteen  centuries  ?  Now, 
what  do  these  facts  undeniably  establish?  Why,  that  the  institu- 
tion of  sacraments  pre-supposes  the  constitution  of  a  Ministr}" ;  and 
the  perpetual  obligation  of  the  former  —  that  is,  sacraments  — 
proves  the  uninterrupted  continuance  of  the  latter.  Not  a  week 
has  passed,  we  may  safely  say,  since  the  Ascension,  that  Baptism 
or  the  Lord's  Supper  has  not  been  celebrated  in  some  part  or 
other  of  the  earth,  and  consequently  not  a  day  has  passed  without 
witnessing  the  existence  of  a  Ministry  in  the  Church.  The  con- 
nection between  them  is  inseparable  ;  and  the  fact  that  men  have 
assumed  the  office  of  the  Ministry  proves  that  the  conviction 
rested  upon  their  minds,  that  a  ministry  and  sacraments  must  go 
together,  —  that  they  could  not  be  sundered  without  impugning 
the  authority  and  impairing  the  institution  of  Christ.  Further- 
more, the  institution  of  sacraments  and  the  authority  to  administer 
them  resting  simply  upon  the  command  of  Christ,  both  necessarily 
become  integral  parts  of  the  same  revelation.  The  same  Divine 
power  that  commissioned  a  Ministry  commanded  the  observance  of 
sacraments ;  and  both  would  be  utterly  destitute  of  obligation,  if 
they  could  not  be  shown  to  rest  upon  the  declared  will  of  Him  to 
whom  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth. 

Under  this  aspect  of  the  case,  —  that  is,  the  Ministry  and  sacra- 
ments being  equally  integral  parts  of  revelation,  equally  of  Divine 
institution,  —  ma}*  not  one  be  altered,  changed,  or  abrogated,  with 
as  much  show  of  reason  as  the  other?  Might  not  the  pretended 
necessity  which  would  justify  an  assumption  of  the  ministerial 
authority  and  office,  just  as  well  authorize  the  entire  disuse  or 


246  Appendix. 

abrogation  or  alteration  of  the  sacraments?  I  confess,  that  with 
every  disposition  to  concede  to  men  distinguished  for  piety,  every 
thing  upon  this  subject  which  is  not  utterly  repugnant  to  the  plain 
declarations  of  Holy  Writ  and  their  unavoidable  meaning,  I  can 
see  no  difference  between  the  claims  to  obedience  and  submission, 
of  those  who  undertake  to  change  or  dispense  with  the  Ministry, 
and  those  who  presume  to  abrogate  the  sacraments.  They  must 
stand  or  fall  together.  Consistency  has,  indeed,  forced  very  many 
who  have  denied  one,  to  reject  the  other.  Thus  the  large  and 
respectable  body  of  Friends,  otherwise  known  as  Quakers,  have 
alike  repudiated  the  Ministry  and  the  sacraments  of  the  Gospel,  as 
of  binding  force  and  obligation  upon  the  consciences  of  men.  And 
as  a  general  rule  we  may  observe,  that  those  who  undervalue  the 
authority  of  the  Ministry  as  of  Divine  institution,  make  but  little 
account  of  the  sacraments  of  Christ's  religion.  They  regard  them 
as  badges  merely  of  profession,  not  necessary  in  any  sense  to  sal- 
vation ;  and  are  consequently  irregular,  inconstant,  and  infrequent 
in  their  observance.  If  it  be  true,  then,  that  Christ  instituted  a 
Ministry  and  sacraments  in  his  Church ;  if  it  be  clear  that  the  sac- 
raments are  of  perpetual  obligation,  and  cannot  be  dispensed  or 
administered  without  a  standing  Ministry ;  if  the  authority  of  the 
Ministr}^  cannot  now  be  certified  by  miracles,  — it  follows  inevita- 
bly that  this  Ministry  can  be  known  and  verified  only  as  proof 
shall  be  exhibited  that  the  authority  originally  delegated  by  Christ 
to  His  Apostles  has  been  transmitted  in  an  uninterrupted  succession 
to  those  who  at  this  day  claim  to  exercise  office  in  the  Christian 
Church.  This  is  what  is  termed  the  Apostolic  succession ;  for 
maintaining  which,  the  charge  of  exdusiveness  is  brought  against 
the  Church.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  she  "  is  everywhere 
spoken  against."  And  yet,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  it  is  never- 
theless demonstrable  true,  that  all  those  who  contend  for  the  insti- 
tution of  a  Ministry  authorized  to  act  in  Christ's  name,  in  the 
appointments  of  religion,  do  adopt  identically  the  same  principle.1 

1  "  Although  religion  be  a  concern  which  equally  belongs  to  every  man, 
yet  it  has  pleased  the  all-wise  Head  of  the  Church  to  appoint  an  order  of 
men  more  particularly  to  minister  in  holy  things. 

"  If  all  the  interests  of  the  Church  are  precious  in  the  view  of  every 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  247 

Hear  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  :  "  Unto 
this  catholic  visible  Church,  Christ  hath  given  the  ministry,  oracles, 
and  ordinances  of  God,  for  the  gathering  and  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  in  this  life,  to  the  end  of  the  world :  and  doth  by  His  own 
presence  and  Spirit,  according  to  His  promise,  make  them  effectual 
thereunto."  The  same  authority  sets  forth  that  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  "holy  signs  and  seals  of  the  covenant  of 
grace,"  appointed  by  Christ  for  our  "  solemn  admission  into  the 
Church,"  and  for  "  confirming  and  sealing  our  interest  in  Him  ;  " 
and  they  are  not  to  be  dispensed  by  any  but  by  "  a  Minister  of  the 
Word  lawfully  ordained."  Do  we  inquire  who  are  "  lawfully 
ordained  Ministers,"  according  to  the  same  standard?  We  are 
informed  that  "  the  Presbytery  —  consisting  of  all  the  Ministers, 
and  one  ruling  elder  from  each  congregation,  within  a  certain 
district  —  or  any  three  Ministers,  and  as  many  elders  as  may  be 
present  belonging  to  the  Presbytery,  — have  power  to  examine  and 

enlightened  Christian,  it  is  evident  that  the  mode  of  organization  cannot  be 
a  trivial  concern. 

"We  agree  with  our  Episcopal  brethren  in  believing  that  Christ  hath 
appointed  officers  in  His  Church  to  preach  the  Word,  to  administer  sacra- 
ments, to  dispense  discipline,  and  to  commit  these  powers  to  other  faithful 
men.  We  believe  as  fully  as  they,  that  there  are  different  classes  arid 
different  denominations  of  officers  in  the  Church  of  Christ;  and  that  among 
these  there  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  due  subordination.  We  concur  with  them 
in  maintaining  that  none  are  regularly  invested  with  the  ministerial  char- 
acter, or  can  with  propriety  be  recognized  in  this  character,  but  those  who 
have  been  set  apart  to  the  office  by  persons  lawfully  clothed  with  the  power 
of  ordaining.  We  unite  with  such  of  them  as  hold  the  opinion,  that  Chris- 
tians in  all  ages  are  bound  to  make  the  Apostolic  order  of  the  Church,  with 
respect  to  the  Ministry,  as  well  as  other  points,  the  model,  as  far  as  possible, 
of  all  their  ecclesiastical  arrangements."  —  DR.  MILLEB  (professor  in  the 
Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.J.). 

Next  hear  Dr.  McLeod,  another  Presbyterian  and  famous  preacher: 
"  A  person  who  is  not  ordained  to  office  by  a  Presbytery  has  no  riyht  to  be 
received  as  a  Minister  of  Christ ;  his  administration  of  ordinances  is  invalid ; 
no  Divine  blessing  is  promised  upon  his  labors:  it  is  rebellion  against  the 
Head  of  the  Church  to  support  him  in  his  pretensions:  Christ  has  excluded 
him,  in  his  providence,  from  admission  through  the  ordinary  door;  and 
if  he  has  no  evidence  of  miraculous  power  to  testify  his  extraordinary 
mission,  he  is  an  impostor."  — McLEOD's  Ecclesiastical  Catechism. 


248  Appendix. 

license  candidates  for  the  holy  Ministry  ;  to  ordain,  install,  remove, 
and  judge  Ministers."  What,  then,  becomes  of  the  charge  of 
exclusiveness  against  the  Church,  if  the  very  same,  upon  identi- 
cally the  same  grounds,  may  be  urged  against  the  Presbyterians, 
and,  indeed,  all  others  who  reject  Episcopacy,  but  yet  claim  the 
power  of  ordination  as  grounded  upon  the  commission  of  Christ  to 
His  Apostles?  Let  the  truth  be  told,  brethren  —  honestly,  openly, 
fairly.  They  flinch  from  the  consequences  of  their  declared  and 
published  sentiments.  Professing  a  sound  principle  to  which  the 
truth  of  God's  Word  compels  them  to  subscribe,  they  yet  deny  its 
application  in  practice,  because  its  practical  exemplification  would 
involve  themselves  in  the  same  odious  imputation  of  exclusiveness 
which  they  seek  to  cast  upon  the  Church.  To  prove  this,  let  us 
ask  the  question,  Where  is  the  power  of  ordination  lodged  in  the 
Church  of  Christ?  They  reply,  In  a  council  of  Presbyters.  Who 
lodged  it  there?  The  Apostles,  acting  under  the  authority  of 
Christ,  and  guided  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  say  they.  Now,  what  is 
the  inevitable  conclusion  from  those  positions?  Why,  that  none 
others  than  those  Presbyterially  ordained  are  lawful  Ministers  of 
Christ.  There  is  no  escape  from  this  conclusion  ;  for  the  Apostles 
did  not  institute  two  modes  of  ordination,  or  leave  the  matter 
opened  and  unsettled  by  their  practice.  With  them  there  was  but 
one  Church,  but  one  source  of  power  and  authority  in  it,  and 
but  one  Ministry.  "  There  is  one  body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye 
are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through 
all,  and  in  you.  all."  l  If  Presbyterial  ordination  be  the  institution 
of  God,  Episcopal  ordination  must  be  of  man.  They  cannot  both 
be  of  Divine  authority,  and  consequently  one  or  the  other  must  be 
without  just  claims  to  the  obedience  of  men.  If  the  former,  prove 
it  by  Scripture  and  the  voice  of  antiquity,  and  we  surrender  Epis- 
copacy upon  the  spot. 

But  that  cannot  be  done,  my  brethren.  The  Bible  must  be 
changed,  and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  must  be  changed,  before 
it  can  be  shown  that  Presbyterianism  is  of  God  arid  Episcopacy 

1  Eph.  iv.  4-6. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  249 

of  man.  The  challenge  of  the  judicious  Hooker  has  remained 
unanswered  some  hundreds  of  years  past,  and  is  likely  to  continue 
so  some  thousands  of  years  to  come.  "  A  very  strange  thing, 
sure,  it  were,"  he  remarks,  "that  such  a  discipline  as  ye  [the 
Puritans]  speak  of  should  be  taught  by  Christ  and  His  Apostles 
in  the  Word  of  God,  and  no  Church  ever  have  found  it  out  nor 
received  it  until  this  present  time :  contrariwise,  the  government 
against  which  ye  bend  yourselves  be  observed  everywhere,  through- 
out all  generations  and  ages  of  the  Christian  world,  no  Church 
ever  perceiving  the  Word  of  God  to  be  against  it.  We  require 
you  to  find  out  but  one  Church  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth, 
that  hath  been  ordered  by  your  discipline,  or  hath  not  been 
ordered  by  ours,  that  is  to  say,  by  Episcopal  regimen,  since  the 
time  that  the  blessed  Apostles  were  here  conversant.  Many  things 
out  of  antiquity  ye  bring,  as  if  the  purest  times  of  the  Church  had 
observed  the  self-same  orders  which  you  require ;  and  as  though 
your  desire  were  that  the  Churches  of  old  should  be  patterns  for 
us  to  follow,  and  even  glasses  wherein  we  might  see  the  practice 
of  that  which  by  you  is  gathered  out  of  Scripture.  But  the  truth 
is,  ye  mean  nothing  less.  All  this  is  done  for  fashion's  sake  only ; 
for  ye  complain  of  it,  as  of  an  injury,  that  men  should  be  willed 
to  seek  for  examples  and  patterns  of  government  in  any  of  those 
times  that  have  been  before." 

Let  those  who  reject  Episcopacy  meet  this  demand  if  they  can  ; 
let  them  trace  a  succession  of  ordinations  by  Presbyteries,  if  they 
deem  such  a  thing  possible :  and  so  far  from  charging  them  with 
exclusiveness,  we  will  give  up  our  own  sj'stem,  and  adopt  theirs. 

In  the  mean  time  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  the  assumption 
which  they  make  —  namely,  that  Presbyterial  ordination  has  the 
authority  of  Scripture  and  the  sanction  of  primitive  practice  to 
uphold  it  —  carries  with  it  all  the  odious  features  which  it  is 
attempted  to  impress  upon  the  claims  of  Episcopacy.  If  a  council 
of  Presbyters  only  are  invested  with  ordaining  power,  then  ordi- 
nation by  a  congregation  is  invalid,  and  this  throws  the  Independ- 
ents, or  Congregationalists,  and  the  whole  body  of  Baptists,  into 
schism ;  not  only  so,  it  determines  against  the  validity  of  ordina- 
tion by  a  Bishop,  in  whom  alone  the  ordaining  power  resides 


250  Appendix. 

according  to  our  system,  and  consequently  cuts  off  both  Episco- 
palians and  Methodists.  Thus  it  is  plain  that  the  Presbyterial 
system  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  exclusive  as  any  other. 
It  is  obliged  to  be  so,  my  friends,  in  the  very  nature  of  things  ;  for 
as  Christ  founded  but  one  Church,  and  committed  to  it  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation,  —  that  ministry,  whether  constituted  after 
the  model  of  Congregationalism,  Presbyterianism,  or  Episcopacy, 
necessarily  excludes  all  others.  The  grand  question  for  us  all  to 
determine  is,  What  was  the  form  of  government  established  in  the 
primitive  Church?  was  it  Congregational,  Presbyterial,  or  Epis- 
copal? Shall  we  appeal  to  Scripture?  We  read  of  Apostles, 
Elders,  and  Deacons  ;  and  it  is  agreed  that  these  orders  made  up 
the  Ministry  of  the  Church  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  We  do 
not  find  mention  once  made  of  ordination  by  a  congregation  or  by  a 
council  of  Presbyters  :  on  the  contrary,  everywhere  the  ministerial 
authority  is  conferred  expressly  by  the  laying-on  of  the  hands  of 
the  Apostles,  —  not  only  of  the  twelve,  but  of  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
of  Timothy  and  Titus.  One  single,  solita^  passage  occurs  where 
the  la}*ing-on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presb3*tery  is  mentioned.1  And 
even  in  that  case  we  do  not  know  that  an  ordination  was  referred 
to.  But,  granting  that  it  was  an  ordination,  it  seems  that  the 
presence  and  action  of  an  Apostle  was  necessary  to  give  \t  valid- 
ity. For  St.  Paul,  referring  to  the  transaction,  let  the  authority 
imparted  by  it  be  what  it  ma}7,  says  expressly  it  was  by  the 
putting-on  of  his  hands  (2  Tim.  i.  6). 

1  "  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy, 
with  the  laying-on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery"  (1  Tim.  iv.  14). 

In  answer  to  the  Presbyterian  gloss  on  these  words,  we  say,  The  word 
Presbytery  does  not  necessarily  signify  a  body  of  Presbyters,  properly  so 
called.  It  is  as  justly  applicable  to  a  council  of  Apostles;  for  every  Apostle 
was  in  virtue  of  his  office  a  Presbyter,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  every 
Presbyter  was  an  Apostle.  Every  Governor  of  the  State  is  ex-qfficio  a  Trus- 
tee of  our  University,  but  every  Trustee  is  not  therefore  Governor  of  the 
State. 

But  let  us  see  how  ancient  and  wise  men  understood  the  term  Presbytery 
as  here  used  by  St.  Paul. 

St.  Chrysostom  says,  "  He  [St.  Paul]  does  not  here  speak  of  Presbyters,  but 
Bishops;  for  Presbyters  do  not  ordain  a  Bishop.^  Theodoret:  "In  this 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  251 

To  meet  the  arguments  of  Episcopalians  upon  this  subject, 
drawn  from  the  plain  warrant  of  Scripture  and  the  undoubted 
practice  of  the  primitive  Church,  it  is  alleged  that  the  Apostles 
were  extraordinary  officers,  and  could  have  no  successors;  and 
that,  after  their  decease,  the  government  of  the  Church  necessarily 
devolved  upon  presbyters.  All  this  ought  to  be  proven.  We 
cannot  consent  to  take  mere  assertion  for  argument.  We  may 
say,  however,  in  passing,  that  neither  Barnabas,  nor  Silas,  nor 
Junias,  nor  Andronicus,  nor  Timothy,  nor  Titus,  appears  to  have 
exercised  any  extraordinary  powers,  or  to  have  been  extraordinary 
officers ;  and  yet  are  they  called  Apostles,  and  some  of  them  we 
know  exercised  the  power  of  ordination,  and  governed  the  Church. 

Again :  those  who  reject  Episcopacy  say  that  it  was  introduced 
by  little  and  little  about  the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  so 
that  before  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.D.  325,  it  was  generally  preva- 
lent, and  after  that  time  was  universal  till  the  era  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. "  A  very  strange  matter,  if  it  were  true,"  says  Archbishop 
Bancroft,  "  that  Christ  should  erect  a  form  of  government  for 
the  ruling  of  His  Church,  to  continue  from  his  departure  out  of  the 
world  until  His  coming  again,  and  that  the  same  should  never  be 
thought  of  or  put  in  practice  for  the  space  of  fifteen  hundred  years  ; 
or,  at  least,  that  the  government  and  kingdom  of  Christ  should 
then  be  overthrown,  when  by  all  men's  confessions,  the  divinity  of 
His  person,  the  virtue  of  his  priesthood,  the  power  of  his  office  as 
He  is  a  prophet,  and  the  honor  of  His  kingly  authority  was  so 
godly,  so  learnedry,  and  so  mightily  established  against  the  Arians 
in  the  Council  of  Nice,  as  that  the  confession  of  the  Christian  faith, 


place  he  calls  those  Presbyters  (i.e.,  old  men)  who  had  received  the  grace  of 
the  Apostleship."  Theophylact:  "  That  is,  of  Bishops;  for  Presbyters  do 
not  ordain  a  Bishop."  Others,  as  Jerome,  Ambrose,  and,  last  but  not  least, 
John  Calvin,  maintain  that  the  term  Presbytery  refers  to  the  office  to  which 
Timothy  was  then  ordained,  and  interpret  the  passage  thus:  "Neglect  not 
the  gift  of  the  presbytery  or  priesthood  that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  by 
prophecy  and  the  laying-on  of  hands." 

Lastly,  hear  St.  Paul's  explanation  of  his  own  words:  "  Wherefore  I  put 
thee  in  remembrance,  that  thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God,  wldch  is  in  thee  by  the 
putting  on  of  my  hands"  (2  Tim.  i.  6). 


- 


252  Appendix. 

then  set  forth,  hath  ever  since  without  contradiction  been  received 
in  the  Church." 

Strange  indeed  that  so  wonderful  a  change  in  the  form  of 
Church  government,  as  that  denoted  by  Episcopacy  from  parity, 
should  take  place,  and  no  record  be  made  of  the  fact,  —  no  detail 
of  the  circumstances  by  which  it  was  effected  be  mentioned  by  so 
much  as  one  writer.  Strange  beyond  the  power  of  explanation, 
that  light  and  trivial  matters  about  which  Christians  then  differed 
should  find  a  place  in  the  annals  of  those  times,  and  yet  the  won- 
derful revolution  from  the  Presbyterial  to  the  Episcopal  mode  of 
government  pass  utterly  unnoticed.  So  early  as  the  time  of  Poly- 
carp,  the  Bishop  of  Smyrna  and  the  disciple  of  St.  John,  the  whole 
Christian  world  was  agitated  by  the  question,  on  what  day  should 
Easter  be  observed?  and  Polycarp  journeyed  all  the  way  from 
Asia  to  Rome  to  adjust  the  difference.  Can  we  really  think  that 
such  things  would  form  matters  of  grave  discussion,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  Episcopacy  pass  unheeded?  When  people  make  such 
demands  of  us,  they  must  ask  us  to  lay  aside  the  common  sense 
and  understanding  of  men. 

"When  I  shall  see,"  sa3's  the  learned  Chillingworth,  "all  the 
fables  in  the  metamorphosis  acted,  and  proved  true  stories ;  when 
I  shall  see  all  the  democracies  and  aristocracies  in  the  world  lie 
down  and  sleep,  and  awake  into  monarchies,  —  then  will  I  begin 
to  believe  that  Presbyterial  government,  having  continued  in  the 
Church  during  the  Apostles'  time,  should  presently  after  (against 
the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  the  will  of  Christ)  be  whirled  about 
like  a  scene  in  a  mask,  and  transformed  into  Episcopacy.  In  the 
mean  time,  while  these  things  remain  thus  incredible,  and  in 
human  reason  impossible,  I  hope  I  shall  have  leave  to  conclude 
thus  :  Episcopal  government  is  acknowledged  to  have  been  univer- 
sally received  in  the  Church,  presently  after  the  Apostles'  times." 

"Between  the  Apostles'  times  and  this  presently  after,  there 
was  not  time  enough  for,  nor  possibility  of,  so  great  an  alteration." 

"And,  therefore,  there  was  no  such  alteration  as  is  pretended. 
And,  therefore,  Episcopacy,  being  confessed  to  be  so  ancient  and 
catholic,  must  be  granted  also  to  be  Apostolic." 

Perhaps  enough  has  now  been  said  to  show  that  there  is  no  just 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  253 

ground  of  complaint  against  the  Church  because  of  her  exclusive- 
ness  ;  since  she  occupies,  in  this  respect,  the  same  position  with 
others.  If  to  be  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  being  the  chief  corner-stone,  be  to  render 
us  exclusive,  let  it  be  even  so.  "We  cannot  help  it.  We  dare  not 
undertake  to  amend  or  alter  that  which  Divine  wisdom  has  ordained 
and  appointed. 

It  gives  me  no  pleasure,  I  am  sure,  to  show  the  points  of  differ- 
ence between  ourselves  and  other  denominations.  I  would  that 
we  were  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and  judgment, 
and  that  we  all  spake  the  same  things.  But  when  points  of  differ- 
ence are  misunderstood,  and  especially  when  they  are  misrepre- 
sented, silence  on  my  part  would  be  an  unworthy  abandonment  of 
known  obligations,  — would  be  a  criminal  indifference  to  the  preva- 
lence of  error,  and  a  disregard  of  your  most  important  and  dearest 
interests.  I  have  no  sympathy,  and  I  hope  you  have  none,  with 
that  mawkish  sensibility  which  fears  the  honest  declaration  of  the 
truth  lest  it  make  others  feel  unpleasant.  I  have  no  respect  for 
that  pretended  liberality  of  opinion,  which,  under  the  name  of 
charity,  will  embrace  all  professions  of  Christianit}7  as  equally  sound 
branches  of  the  one  Catholic  Church  of  Christ,  and  will  cast  into 
the  shade  all  distinctive  principles  as  non-essential  and  of  minor 
consequence.  Christianity,  brethren,  u  rejoiceth  in  the  truth,"  as 
well  as  "  hopeth  all  things,  and  endureth  all  things."  And  while 
we  dare  not  pronounce  upon  the  character  of  those  who  follow 
unscriptural  and  erroneous  systems ;  while  we  leave  them  to  the 
just  and  righteous  judgment  of  that  God  before  whom  we  must  all 
stand  at  last,  —  it  is  nevertheless  our  duty  to  show  them  their 
error,  to  lead  them  to  embrace  the  truth,  and  by  all  proper  means 
aid  them  to  attain  eternal  life. 

Having,  therefore,  made  a  beginning  upon  this  subject,  I  shall, 
God  being  my  helper,  go  into  it  thoroughly,  and  leave  nothing 
untouched  as  to  the  order,  doctrine,  and  worship  of  the  Church, 
which  may  conduct  you  to  a  correct  understanding  of  her  principles 
and  your  own  correspondent  privileges  and  duties.  And,  if  I 
succeed  in  this,  I  know  the  necessary  effect  will  be  to  inspire  you 
with  increasing  reverence  for  the  institutions  which  God  has  estab- 


254  Appendix. 

lished,  and  with  a  deeper  sense  of  gratitude  to  that  good  Provi- 
dence which  has  wrought  wondrously  and  mercifully  for  you,  and 
brought  you  into  connection  with  His  Holy  Church. 

SERMON  III. 

"But  we  desire  to  hear  of  Thee  what  Thou  thinkest  :  for  as  concerning 
this  sect,  we  know  that  everywhere  it  is  spoken  against."  —  ACTS  xxviii.  22. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  in  the  assaults  made  upon 
Christianity,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  the  chief  point  of 
attack  has  ever  been  the  Ministry  of  the  Church.  The  reason  is 
plain.  Every  system  which  proposes  to  teach  men  their  duty  in 
what  most  nearly  concerns  them,  must  have  defenders.  And  this 
is  more  especially  necessary  in  a  case  where  the  instructions  deliv- 
ered are  professedly  based  upon  the  expression  of  the  Divine  will. 
If  there  were  not  an  order  of  men  set  for  the  defence  of  the  Gospel, 
it  would  very  soon  cease  to  exert  any  influence,  and,  like  other 
systems,  sink  into  oblivion,  from  the  attacks  of  its  enemies,  and 
from  the  indifference  of  mankind  to  whatever  does  not  in  some  way 
subserve  their  present  interests.  This  must  be  apparent  enough 
to  an}r  one  who  has  been  observant  of  the  prevailing  tone  of  moral 
feeling  in  those  communities  where  the  Gospel  is  seldom  or  never 
preached,  and  in  those  countries  where  its  truths  are  much  ob- 
scured and  its  doctrines  much  corrupted.  The  principles  of  Chris- 
tianit}-  impose  a  check  upon  the  passions  of  men,  and  thus  offer  a 
restraint  to  those  pursuits  in  which  their  passions  lead  them  to 
engage.  Its  present  rewards  are  not  attractive  to  the  unrenewed 
mind  of  man,  while  its  promises  are  for  the  most  part  future  and 
distant.  Hence  its  sanctions  are  of  that  awful  and  impressive 
character  which  the  Bible  addresses  to  our  natural  and  instinctive 
fears,  warning  us  of  a  judgment  to  come,  and  the  solemn  retribu- 
tions of  eternity  ;  and  hence  it  uses  the  language  of  authority. 

It  was  doubtless  from  a  wise  foresight  of  the  proneness  of  the 
human  mind  to  become  engrossed  with  "  temporal  things,"  to  the 
exclusion  and  neglect  of  the  "  things  that  are  eternal,"  that  God 
established  His  Church,  having  in  it  appointments  to  keep  alive 
the  remembrance  of  our  future  accountability  and  most  important 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  255 

interests ;  and  committed  to  it  the  Ministry  of  reconciliation, 
charged  with  the  special  duty  of  rousing  men,  by  warning  and 
rebuke,  from  the  slumbers  of  a  careless  and  unreflecting  life,  and 
of  quickening  them  in  the  pursuit  of  a  heavenly  crown  by  holding 
up  to  their  view  the  glorious  rewards  of  eternity. 

That  God  did  establish  His  Church  in  the  world,  admits  of  no 
more  question  than  that  He  made  a  revelation  to  mankind.  That 
He  appointed  a  Ministry  in  that  Church,  deriving  their  authority 
to  act  in  the  appointments  of  religion  from  Him,  is  equally  plain 
and  certain.  That  this  authority,  whatever  it  be,  is  delegated,  no 
one  will  deny.  By  delegated  authority,  I  mean,  of  course,  authority 
to  act  in  the  name  of  another.  It  is  authority  in  opposition  to  that 
which  is  assumed.  And  that  no  one  is  allowed  to  assume  such 
authority  in  the  name  of  God,  is  manifest  from  the  whole  recorded 
history  of  the  Divine  dispensations,  as  well  as  clear  from  express 
declarations  of  Holy  Writ.  "  No  man  taketh  this  honor  to  him- 
self," says  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  but  he  that 
is  called  of  God  as  was  Aaron."  "  So  also  Christ  glorified  not 
Himself  to  be  made  an  high  priest ;  but  He  that  said  unto  Him, 
Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten  thee."  1  Such  a  decla- 
ration, enforced  by  the  reference  to  the  illustrious  examples  men- 
tioned by  the  Apostle  in  confirmation  of  its  truth,  must  settle 
forever  the  question  whether  the  ministerial  authority  may  be 
assumed  or  not ;  it  must  forever  stamp  the  seal  of  reprobation  upon 
all  assumptions  of  the  Ministry  without  warrant.  Dr.  McKnight, 
a  learned  Presb3rterian  divine  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  his 
celebrated  work  on  the  Epistles,  has  these  words:  "  The  account 
of  the  designation,  character,  and  office  of  an  high  priest,  the 
Apostle  applies  to  Messiah,  by  observing,  that  as  in  the  Gospel 
Church  no  man  can  take  the  dignity  of  an  high  priest  to  himself, 
but  only  the  person  who  is  called  to  the  office  by  God,  like  Aaron 
in  the  Jewish  Church,  —  so  the  Christ  did  not,  by  his  own  author- 
ity, assume  the  office  of  high  priest  in  the  house  of  God  ;  but  He 
bestowed  that  dignity  upon  Him,  who  declared  him  His  Son,  by 
raising  Him  from  the  dead."  Aaron  was  set  apart  and  consecrated 

1  Heb.  v.  4,  5. 


256  Appendix. 

to  the  priesthood,  —  he  and  his  sons,  —  after  an  open  and  public 
manner,  according  to  the  express  command  of  God,  by  Moses. 
His  consecration  was  the  visible  and  declared  designation  to  the 
office  to  which  God  had  called  him  and  his  family.  And  when 
afterwards  Korah  and  his  company  assumed  to  themselves  the 
same  office,  and  undertook  to  offer  incense  to  the  Lord,  upon  the 
alleged  plea  that  all  the  congregation  were  holy,  God  interposed 
in  a  singular  and  awful  manner  for  their  punishment ;  and  com- 
manded a  memorial  to  be  made,  to  be  a  token  to  the  children  of 
Israel  through  their  generations,  that  no  one  who  was  not  of  the 
seed  of  Aaron  should  come  near  to  offer  incense  before  the  Lord, — 
that  is,  to  execute  the  office  of  priesthood,  —  "lest  he  perish  as 
did  Korah  and  his  company."  *  As  Aaron  was  public^  called  to 
his  office,  so  was  Christ ;  for  it  was  not  until  His  baptism  in  Jordan, 
and  the  voice  which  came  from  God  proclaiming  Him  to  be  His 
beloved  Son,  that  Jesus  began  His  public  ministry. 

Whatever,  then,  be  the  piety,  the  righteousness,  and  the  learn- 
ing of  any  man,  they  do  not  in  themselves  confer  the  power  of 
office,  however  necessary  they  may  be  to  the  proper  discharge  of 
its  duties.  There  are  doubtless  many  men  in  our  country  qualified 
to  fill  the  office  of  ambassador  to  foreign  courts :  yet  no  one  is 
competent  to  fill  the  station,  unless  he  have  received  the  requisite 
grant  of  authority  to  do  so  from  the  President  and  Senate.  His 
knowledge  and  talents,  be  they  ever  so  great,  will  not  be  taken 
as  his  credentials  to  act  as  the  representative  of  the  government. 
Neither  will  his  declaration  cause  him  to  be  received  as  the 
nation's  accredited  agent.  In  short,  he  must  present  his  commis- 
sion ;  and  when  that  is  received,  his  acts,  whether  he  possess 
learning  and  skill  in  diplomacy  or  not,  are  valid  and  binding  to 
the  full  extent,  letter,  and  spirit  of  his  instructions. 

Just  so  there  are  many  possessed  of  high  and  eminent  qualifica- 
tions, by  reason  of  their  piety,  knowledge,  and  other  gifts,  to  act 
as  ambassadors  of  Christ.  Still  these  talents,  however  essential  to 
the  efficiency  of  the  Ministry,  do  not  any  more  make  one  a  Min- 
ister of  Christ's  religion  than  knowledge  and  skill  make  another 

1  Num.  xvi. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  257 

minister  to  a  foreign  court.  The  commission,  or  authentic  letter 
of  authority,  derived  from  the  true  and  proper  source  of  power,  in 
both  cases,  is  indispensable  to  give  validity  to  ministerial  acts. 
In  either  instance,  the  minister  acts  not  in  his  own  name,  but  in 
the  name  of  another.  He  is  an  agent,  and  must  act  according  to 
the  tenor  of  given  and  prescribed  instructions.  The  message 
which  he  bears  may  be  most  unpleasant  to  deliver :  but  it  is  not 
his  own,  but  His  who  sends  him ;  and  he  must  deliver  it  even  in 
the  terms  in  which  he  received  it,  or  prove  faithless  to  his  trust. 
Unless  these  things  be  so,  brethren,  the  government  which  God 
has  established  in  his  kingdom  on  earth  —  called  the  Church  —  is 
less  certain  in  its  provisions,  less  definite  in  its  objects,  less  wise 
in  its  appointments,  less  fixed  in  its  arrangements,  and  less  sure 
in  its  results,  than  the  institutions  of  men.  Once  make  the 
Church  the  mere  figment  of  man's  creation ;  once  regard  it  in 
the  light  only  of  a  human  contrivance,  and  subject  to  the  alteration 
or  amendment  of  man's  presuming  wisdom,  in  any  of  its  original 
and  essential  features,  — and  all  vitality  is  gone  from  its  laws,  all 
authority  from  its  enactments,  all  confidence  from  its  promises, 
and  all  the  assurance  of  heavenly  hope  from  the  participation  of 
its  ordinances.  It  becomes  the  frail  and  tottering  fabric  of  man's 
caprice,  built  up  of  "hay  and  stubble,"  and  doomed  to  "suffer 
loss  "  when  proved  b}*  the  purifying  fires  of  God's  truth.  Such  is 
not  the  Church  of  God,  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Prophets 
and  Apostles,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone. 
Such  is  not  the  holy  citadel  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  against 
which  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail.  "  Walk  about  Zion,  and 
go  round  about  her :  tell  the  towers  thereof.  Mark  ye  well  her 
bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces."  "As  we  have  heard,  so  have  we 
seen  in  the  city  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  the  city  of  our  God : 
God  will  establish  it  forever."  Thus  sang  David,  under  the  law  ; 
and  if  his  words,  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  true  of  Jeru- 
salem or  Zion,  the  type  of  the  Christian  Church,  how  much  more 
shall  they  not  be  thought  applicable  in  every  respect  to  that  which 
St.  Paul  calls  the  "  house  of  God,  which  is  the  Church  of  the 
living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth  !  "  l 

i  1  Tim.  iii.  15. 


258  Appendix. 

In  these  views,  perhaps,  we  shall  all  be  found  to  agree.  None 
will  deny  the  authority  and  perpetuity  of  Christ's  Church ;  none 
will  question  the  fact  that  the  Christian  Ministry  is  a  purely  dele- 
gated power,  deriving  its  authority  alone  from  God.  If  any  deny 
this  last  position,  we  leave  him  to  settle  the  point  with  St.  Paul, 
who  says,  "  As  we  were  allowed  of  God  to  be  put  in  trust  with 
the  gospel,  even  so  we  speak;  not  as  pleasing  men,  but  God, 
which  trieth  our  hearts." x  And  again,  "Now  then  we  are  ambas- 
sadors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us  :  we  pray 
you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."2  Language  of 
the  like  import  abounds  in  the  New  Testament.  "The  glorious 
gospel  of  the  blessed  God,  which,"  says  St.  Paul,  "was  com- 
mitted to  my  trust."  8  "So  account  of  us,  as  of  the  ministers  of 
Christ,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God.  Moreover  it  is  re- 
quired in  stewards,  that  a  man  be  found  faithful."  4  "  Approving 
ourselves  as  the  ministers  of  God."  5  "  Seeing  we  have  this  min- 
istry, we  faint  not."  6  "  All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  recon- 
ciled us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the 
ministry  of  reconciliation."7  "I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord, 
who  hath  enabled  me,  for  that  he  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me 
into  the  ministry."  8  "  Take  heed  to  the  ministry  which  thou  hast 
received  in  the  Lord,  that  thou  fulfil  it."  9  "  Make  full  proof  of 
thy  ministry."  10  Thus,  by  whatever  terms  office  in  the  Church  is 
described,  —  whether  trust,  ambassadorship,  stewardship,  or  min- 
istry, —  we  are  at  once  reminded  of  its  delegated  character,  and 
that  great  and  solemn  responsibility,  from  the  very  nature,  design, 
and  authority  of  the  charge,  attaches  to  its  management. 

Indeed,  it  seems  wonderful  that  any  other  view  should  ever 
have  been  taken  of  this  subject,  and  that  the  idea  should  have 
been  entertained  that  the  Ministry  was  not  to  be  perpetuated  as 
originally  constituted  in  the  New  Testament.  For  when  we  open 
that  little  volume,  and  inquire  into  the  character  of  Christ's  reli- 
gion, we  are  met  at  the  outset  by  the  information  that  the  Gospel 
is  to  be  preached  to  all  nations,  and  that  its  institutions  are  to  run 

i  1  Thess.  ii.  4.         2  2  Cor.  v.  20.         3  1  Tim.  i.  11.         4  1  Cor.  iv.  1,  2. 
5  2  Cor.  vi.  4.  6  2  Cor.  iv.  1.         7  2  Cor.  v.  18.         8  1  Tim.  i.  12. 

9  Col.  iv.  17.  10  2  Tim.  iv.  5. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  259 

coeval  with  its  propagation  and  extension,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  We  read  that  sacraments  were  ordained  of  Christ,  and 
were  to  be  observed  by  all  those  in  all  places  where  the  faith  was 
embraced.  Has  not  this  religion  come  down  even  to  us?  Have 
not  its  sacraments  been  administered  for  the  last  eighteen  cen- 
turies, wherever  faith  in  the  Saviour  has  been  proclaimed  and 
received?  By  whom,  brethren,  has  this  faith  been  preached,  and 
these  sacraments  been  duly  administered  ?  There  can  be  but  one 
answer  to  these  questions.  We  must  say,  By  the  Ministry.  The 
Church  sacraments  and  Ministry  thus  become  witnesses  to  the  truth 
of  Christ's  religion.  During  the  darkest  period  of  the  world's 
history,  when  the  light  of  God's  truth  shone  dimly,  when  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ  was  most  obscured  by  the  traditions  of  men,  and 
when  corruptions  most  marred  the  fair  form  of  Christianity  under 
papal  misrule  and  usurpation,  still  the  Church  sacraments  and 
Ministry  existed,  and  gave  united  testimony  to  the  world  that 
Jesus  had  died,  and  that  through  His  name  salvation  was  yet 
assured  to  the  hope  of  perishing  man.  The  great  facts  upon  which 
the  doctrine  of  redemption  is  founded  have  thus  been  preserved 
to  the  world,  and  would  be  again,  should  darkness  once  more 
cover  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people. 

It  is  not  denied  by  any,  so  far  as  I  know,  that  Christ,  after  his 
resurrection,  and  previous  to  his  ascension  into  heaven,  commis- 
sioned the  eleven  Apostles  to  gather  his  Church,  and  settle  its 
order  and  government.  During  the  last  forty  days  of  His  contin- 
uance upon  earth,  we  are  told,  He  came  to  them  from  time  to 
time,  giving  them  commandments,  and  ''speaking  of  the  things 
pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God."  l  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  in 
reason,  then,  that  they  were  left  in  ignorance  as  to  the  extent 
of  their  powers,  or  as  to  the  order  of  administration  which  Christ 
would  have  established  in  His  Church.  Still  less  is  this  supposi- 
tion reasonable  when  we  remember  that  the  Apostles  were  under 
the  guidance  of  that  Holy  Spirit  which  was  to  lead  them  into  all 
truth,  and  to  bring  to  their  remembrance  all  things  whatsoever 
that  Jesus  had  said  unto  them.  In  fulfilment  of  their  trust,  it  is 

i  Acts.  i.  3. 


260  Appendix. 

certain  that  they  in  a  public  manner  ordained  Matthias  in  the 
place  of  Judas,  and  "  he  was  numbered  with  the  eleven  Apos- 
tles."1 Equally  clear  and  certain  is  it  that  others,  as  Paul  and 
Barnabas  and  Silas,  and  Timothy  and  Titus  and  James,  were 
called  Apostles,  and  that  they  exercised  the  powers  of  Apostles  in 
governing  the  Church,  and  in  ordaining  to  the  holy  Ministry. 
These,  therefore,  according  to  the  express  language  of  Scripture, 
constituted  the  first  or  highest  order  of  the  Gospel  Ministry.  The 
testimony  is  equally  direct  and  conclusive  as  to  the  constitution 
of  the  second  and  third  orders  of  the  Ministry;  viz.,  the  order 
of  Elders,  Bishops,  or  Presbyters,  as  they  are  interchangeably2 
termed  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  order  of  deacons.  These 
are  the  orders  of  the  Christian  Ministry  as  unquestionably  estab- 
lished in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  The  testimony  of  the  New 

1  Acts  i.  26. 

2  It  is  freely  admitted  by  Episcopalians,  that  these  terms  are  thus  inter- 
changeably used  in  the  New  Testament.     The  admission  is  improved  into 
an  argument  in  the  hands  of  the  opponents  of  Episcopacy,  who  most 
preposterously  argue  from  a  community  of  names  to  a  community  in  rank 
or  order.     The  fallacy  of  the  argument  has  been  too  frequently  exposed  to 
need  repetition  here.    But  it  may  nevertheless  be  useful  to  subjoin  the 
testimonies  of  Theodoret  and  Isidore  on  this  subject,  who  lived  in  the 
fifth  century,  and  whose  evidence  in  the  case  will  probably  be  considered, 
by  the  "  wise  and  prudent,"  conclusive. 

Theodoret:  "  Epaphroditus  was  called  the  Apostle  of  the  Philippians, 
because  he  was  intrusted  with  the  Episcopal  government,  as  being  their 
Bishop.  For  those  now  called  Bishops  were  anciently  called  Apostles;  but 
in  process  of  time  the  name  of  Apostle  was  left  to  those  who  were  truly 
Apostles,  and  the  name  of  Bishop  was  restrained  to  those  who  were  an- 
ciently called  Apostles:  thus  Epaphroditus  was  the  Apostle  of  the  Philip- 
pians, Titus  of  the  Cretans,  and  Timothy  of  the  Asiatics." 

Isidore:  "The  Bishops  succeeded  the  Apostles:  they  were  constituted 
through  the  whole  world  in  the  place  of  the  Apostles."  Isidore  then  says 
that  "  Aaron  the  High  Priest  was  what  a  Bishop  is,  and  Aaron's  sons  pre- 
figured the  Presbyters." 

Mosheim,  who  will  not  be  suspected  of  any  undue  partiality  towards 
Episcopacy,  says  of  Isidore,  the  Bishop  of  Pelusium,  "He  was  a  man  of 
uncommon  learning  and  sanctity.  A  great  number  of  his  epistles  are  yet 
extant,  and  discover  more  piety,  genius,  erudition,  and  wisdom  than  are  to 
be  found  in  the  voluminous  productions  of  many  other  writers." 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  261 

Testament  is  silent  as  to  any  other  order  of  administration.  Its 
Canon  closes  with  this  arrangement ;  and  if  any  change  or  altera- 
tion of  this  order  was  made,  the  evidence  of  it  must  be  sought 
for  elsewhere  than  in  the  records  of  inspiration.  The  assertions, 
therefore,  that  Christ  and  His  Apostles  left  no  specific  directions 
as  to  the  order  and  government  of  the  Church,  and  that  the  whole 
subject  was  left  open  to  the  exigences  of  times  and  occasions,  are 
wholly  gratuitous,  utterly  destitute  of  proof,  and  flatly  contradicted 
by  the  fact  that  Christ  continued  forty  days  with  the  Apostles, 
giving  them  commandments,  and  speaking  of  the  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and  by  the  fact,  also,  that  the  Apos- 
tles did  admit  others  into  their  number,  and  did  ordain  presbyters 
and  deacons.  The  obscurity,  and  lack  of  precision,  which  some 
men  allege  to  be  thrown  around  the  order  and  government  of  the 
Apostolic  Church,  are  nothing  short  of  empty  pretences,  and  are 
about  as  available  to  excuse  their  irregularities  and  schisms,  as  the 
alleged  mysteries  of  faith  are  to  excuse  the  indifference  and  sin  of 
unbelief. 

The  threefold  constitution  of  the  Ministry  as  above  stated, 
composed  of  Apostles,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons  in  their  respective 
orders,  we  hold  to  be  the  form  of  Church  government  as  clearly 
defined  in  the  New  Testament.  As  it  was  established  by  Divine 
authority,  and  undeniably  continued  till  the  Canon,  and  of  course 
the  testimony  of  Sacred  Scripture,  was  closed,  we  are  compelled 
to  regard  it  as  of  perpetual  obligation,  and  unchangeable,  until 
authority  can  be  shown  to  alter  it.1 

If  we  would  inquire  as  to  the  powers  which  these  three  orders 
exercised  respectively,  we  must  look  at  their  commissions  and  at 
their  acts.  As  to  the  Apostles,  we  find  that  thirteen  of  them 
were  special  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  They 
were  chosen  for  that  specific  purpose,  and  so  far  could  have  no 
successors.  For  the  idea  of  witnesses  having  successors  carries 
absurdity  on  its  very  face.  They  may  be  contemporaneous  wit- 
nesses to  the  same  matters  of  fact ;  as  the  five  hundred  brethren 

1  Archbishop  Whately's  preposterous  concessions  upon  this  point  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 


262  Appendix. 

who  saw  Christ  after  his  resurrection,  on  a  mountain  in  Galilee, 
were,  with  the  Apostles  then  present,  witnesses  of  one  and  the 
same  fact.  But  to  bear  testimony  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
was  not  the  only  duty  with  which  the  Apostles  were  charged.  If 
we  turn  to  their  commission,  we  shall  see  that  they  were  specially 
charged  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all  nations,  and  to  baptize  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  Accordingly  we 
find,  in  tracing  the  history  of  their  acts,  that  they  not  only  testi- 
fied that  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead,  but  also  preached,  and 
baptized  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  that  they  ordained  others 
to  the  performance  of  the  like  offices.  They,  or  at  least  a  portion 
of  them,  possessed  also  the  power  of  conferring  the  miraculous 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  imposition  of  their  hands.  Some 
of  them  also  were  endowed  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  In  these 
things,  then,  —  as  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  as 
prophets,  as  bestowers  of  miraculous  gifts,  —  their  office  was 
extraordinary  ;  and  as  such  they  had  no  successors. 

But  it  is  remarkable,  that,  in  the  commission  given  to  the  Apos- 
tles, —  which  was  antecedent  to  the  Day  of  Pentecost  when  they 
received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  —  no  reference  is  made  to  their 
extraordinary  powers.  The  tenor  of  their  commission,  as  recorded 
by  St.  Matthew  and  St.  John,  runs  thus:  "All  power  is  given 
unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  3*6  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  what- 
soever I  have  commanded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."1  "  Then  said  Jesus  to  them  again," 
are  the  words  of  St.  John,  "Peace  be  unto  you:  as  my  Father 
hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he 
breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost : 
whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them  ;  and  whose 
soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained."2 

These  last  words,  respecting  the  power  of  remitting  and  retain- 
ing sins,  are  generally  understood  as  conveying  the  power  of  dis- 
cipline, —  of  inflicting  and  removing  Church  censures ;  a  power 

1  St.  Matt,  xxviii.  18-20.  2  St.  John  xx.  21-23. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  263 

claimed  and  exercised  by  all  denominations  to  this  extent,  and 
indeed  indispensable  to  the  preservation  of  purity  and  order  in  any 
society  whatever. 

The  commission  of  the  Apostles  sets  forth  that  they  are  to 
preach,  to  baptize,  and  to  exercise  discipline.  And  certainly,  so 
far  at  least,  no  one  will  deny  that  they  may  and  ever  have  had  suc- 
cessors in  office.  But  the  commission,  as  recorded  by  both  the 
Evangelists,  clearly  indicates  that  they  were  invested  with  yet 
higher  powers.  Besides  making  disciples  of  all  nations,  —  which 
is  regarded  as  a  more  correct  rendering  than  teaching  all  nations, 
— and  baptizing  them,  they  are  furthermore  to  teach  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  Christ  had  commanded.  Now,  as 
these  things,  whatever  they  were,  are  not  specifically  set  forth  in 
the  commission  itself,  it  seems  reasonable  to  conclude  that  we  must 
search  for  them  in  what  the  Apostles  taught  and  in  what  they  did. 
They  have  recorded  what  they  taught,  and  what  they  did  also,  — 
at  least,  to  a  sufficient  extent,  we  must  suppose,  to  furnish  the  man 
of  God  thoroughly  unto  every  good  word  and  work.  And  among 
the  things  which  they  did,  acting  under  Christ's  commission,  we 
know  that  they  ordained  to  the  Ministry  ;  and  in  so  doing,  not  only 
established  a  precedent  for  those  whom  they  thus  ordained,  to  do 
as  they  had  done,  but  moreover  gave  express  directions  to  that 
end.  "The  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me  among  many  wit- 
nesses/' says  St.  Paul  to  Timothy,  u  the  same  commit  thou  to 
faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also."1 

The  words  of  St.  John,  in  recording  the  grant  of  authority  to 
the  Apostles,  convey  the  idea  of  still  more  ample  powers.  "  As 
my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you ;  "  and  then  breath- 
ing on  them  said,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost. "  Whatever  may 
be  made  out  of  these  words,  no  one  will  deny  that  this  much  at 
least  is  certain,  that  Christ  invests  His  Apostles  with  full  power 
and  authority  to  settle  the  order  and  administer  the  affairs  of  His 
kingdom  on  earth.  Whatever,  then,  they  taught  and  commanded 
in  pursuance  of  this  object,  we  hold  to  be  binding  upon  the  con- 
sciences of  all  believers.  That  they  ordained  Elders,  is  not  denied  ; 

i  2  Tim.  ii.  2. 


264  Appendix. 

that  these  Elders  ministered  in  the  Church,  in  subordination  to  a 
higher  order  of  the  Ministry  called  Apostles,  is  as  clear  as  any 
other  fact  recorded  in  the  sacred  writings  ;  that  not  a  single  in- 
stance of  the  Elders  exercising  the  power  of  ordination  has  ever 
been  clearly  made  out,  is  just  as  certain  as  that  the  higher  or  apos- 
tolic order  did  exercise  that  power.  That  the  Apostles  ordained 
Deacons,  is  admitted  ;  that  these  Deacons  both  preached  and  bap- 
tized, and  so  far  were  Ministers,  stands  as  plainly  recorded  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  any  thing  else  to  be  read  therein.  Here, 
then,  brethren,  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Church  thus  constituted  of 
Apostles,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons,  is  that  Episcopacy  for  which 
we  contend  as  the  order  established  by  Divine  wisdom  in  Christ's 
kingdom  on  earth.  Christ  said  He  would  be  with  the  Apostles 
"  alwa}'S,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.'*  Are  we  to  suppose, 
then,  that  the  Apostles  left  the  Church  destitute  of  a  Ministry ; 
that  they  left  the  whole  body  of  believers  throughout  the  world,  in 
Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Rome,  Corinth,  and  a  hundred  other 
places  where  they  had  planted  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  in  an  unor- 
ganized state,  —  left  them  to  choose  a  Ministry,  and  ordain  them 
from  among  themselves,  to  define  their  powers,  and  settle  the  limits 
of  their  jurisdiction?  Such  a  supposition  lies  not  within  the  bound- 
aries of  the  most  extravagant  credulity.  It  would  be  an  example 
without  precedent  in  the  history  of  man.  It  was  a  thing  plainly 
impossible  from  the  very  nature  of  the  Christian  institution,  having 
ordinances  to  be  administered,  and,  by  necessary  consequence,  re- 
quiring an  order  of  men  for  that  purpose,  invested  with  power  and 
authority  to  perpetuate  the  office  of  administration.  And  accord- 
ingly the  very  first  witnesses  that  present  themselves  to  our  exami- 
nation, after  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  had  passed  off  the 
stage  of  action  ;  witnesses,  some  of  whom  saw  and  conversed  with 
the  Apostles,  and  labored  with  them  in  their  ministry ;  witnesses 
upon  whom  we  are  obliged  to  rely  to  prove  the  authenticity  and 
genuineness  of  the  New  Testament,  —  these  witnesses  testify,  with 
one  voice,  that  the  Ministry  of  the  Church  in  their  day  was  con- 
stituted after  the  model  of  the  Apostolic  age ;  that  they  did  not 
establish  it  after  the  form  or  order  in  which  it  existed  among  them, 
but  that  they  had  so  received  it  from  the  Apostles  themselves.  To 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  265 

illustrate  the  value  of  these  witnesses,  let  us  ask,  How  know  we 
that  the  book  called  the  New  Testament  was  written  in  the  age  of 
the  Apostles  and  by  the  disciples  of  Christ  ?  Thomas  Paine  asserts 
that  it  was  written  three  hundred  years  later.  How  do  we  meet 
this  bold  and  unblushing  assertion  of  infidelity  ?  Simply  by  refer- 
ring to  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  of  the  first  three  centuries. 
They  make  mention  of  the  Gospels  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of 
other  portions  of  the  same  work,  and  quote  passages  from  it.  Is 
their  testimony,  then,  good  and  sufficient  to  settle  the  simple  ques- 
tion of  fact,  whether  the  New  Testament  was  in  existence  in  their 
respective  ages,  or  not?  If  yea,  then  why  is  not  the  same  testi- 
mony equally  available  to  settle  the  question  of  fact,  as  to  what 
was  the  order  of  the  Christian  Ministry  ?  Let  us  hear  them  speak 
for  themselves.  We  begin  with  Clement  of  Rome,  whom  St.  Paul 
commends  as  his  fellow-laborer  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Philippians. 
He  wrote  about  forty  years  after  our  Lord's  death,  and  during  the 
lifetime  of  St.  John. 

He  says,  in  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,1  "  The  apos- 
tles, preaching  through  countries  and  cities,  appointed  the  first-fruits 
of  their  conversions  to  be  bishops  and  ministers  over  such  as  should 
afterwards  believe."  u  The  apostles  knew  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  there  should  contentions  arise  concerning  the  episcopal 
name  (or  order)  ;  and  for  this  cause,  having  perfect  foreknowledge 
(of  these  things) ,  they  did  ordain  those  whom  we  have  mentioned 
before;  and,  moreover,  did  establish  the  constitution,  that  other 
approved  men  should  succeed  those  who  died  in  their  office  and  min- 
istry." "  To  the  high  priest,  his  proper  offices  were  appointed;  the 
priests  had  their  proper  order,  and  the  levites  their  peculiar  services 
or  deaconships;  and  the  laymen,  what  was  proper  for  laymen." 
This  St.  Clement  applies  to  the  distribution  of  orders  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  — Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons. 

Such  is  the  plain,  unequivocal,  and  decisive  testimony  of  the 
earliest  ecclesiastical  writer  whose  works  have  reached  us,  next 
after  the  Apostles,  —  a  writer  who  was  himself  chosen  by  the  Apos- 
tles, and  appointed  to  preside  as  Bishop  over  one  of  the  Churches 
which  they  had  planted. 

1  See  Oxford  edition,  1677,  sect.  42,  p.  89. 


266  Appendix. 

The  next  witness  we  produce  is  Ignatius,  Bishop  of  Antioch, 
A.D.  71.  He  was  constituted  Bishop  of  Antioch  by  the  Apostles 
then  living ;  and  wrote  Epistles  to  various  Churches,  while  on  his 
journey  to  Rome,  in  which  he  exhorts  the  inferior  Ministers,  Pres- 
bj'ters,  and  Deacons  to  be  in  subjection  to  their  Bishop.  He 
sealed  the  truth  of  his  religion  by  suffering  martyrdom ;  being 
thrown  to  wild  beasts  at  Rome,  by  order  of  Trajan,  less  than  ten 
years  after  the  death  of  St.  John,  or  about  A.D.  107. 

To  the  Ephesians,  after  speaking  of  their  "excellent  Bishop 
Onesimus,"  he  thus  writes  ;  '•''For  even  Jesus  Christ,  our  insepara- 
ble life,  is  sent  by  the  will  of  the  Father;  as  the  bishops,  appointed 
unto  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  earth,  are  by  the  will  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

To  the  Magnesians:  "  /  exhort  you  that  you  study  to  do  all 
things  in  a  divine  concord;  your  bishop  presiding  in  the  place  of 
God,  your  presbyters  in  the  place  of  the  council  of  the  apostles;  and 
your  deacons  most  dear  to  me,  being  intrusted  with  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  Christ."  Such  language  partakes  largely,  you  perceive,  of 
the  hyperbolical  style  of  the  Orientals.  We  are  quoting  Ignatius, 
you  will  remember,  not  to  settle  the  point  of  reverence  and  dignity 
due  to  the  Ministry,  but  to  show  the  fact  stated,  that  the  Ministry 
consisted  of  three  orders.  In  this  same  epistle  he  mentions  by 
name,  the  Bishop  Damas,  the  Presbyters  Bassus  and  Apollonias, 
and  the  Deacon  Sotia. 

To  the  Trallians  :  "  Let  all  reverence  the  deacons  as  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  bishop  as  the  Father,  and  the  presbyters  as  the  Sanhedrim 
of  God  and  college  of  the  apostles :  he  that  does  any  thing  without 
the  bishop  and  presbyters  and  deacons  is  not  pure  in  his  conscience." 

To  the  Philadelphians  :  "  To  those  who  were  in  unity  withjheir 
bishop  and  presbyters  and  deacons :  there  is  one  bishop  with  his 
presbyters,  and  the  deacons  my  fellow  servants.  Give  heed  to  the 
bishop  and  to  the  presbytery  and  to  the  deacons :  do  nothing  without 
the  bishop." 

To  the  Smyrnians,  over  whom  Polycarp  the  disciple  of  St.  John 
presided  as  bishop  :  "  See  that  ye  all  follow  your  bishop,  as  Jesus 
Christ  did  the  Father;  and  the  presbyters  as  the  apostles;  and  rev- 
erence the  deacons  as  the  command  of  God.  My  soul  be  security 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  267 

for  them  that  submit  to  their  bishop  with  their  presbyters  and 
deacons." 

Is  it  possible  for  any  intelligent  and  sound  mind  to  read  these 
quotations,  and  come  to  any  other  conclusion  than  that  there  were 
three  orders  —  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons  —  in  the  Christian 
Ministry  in  the  age  of  Ignatius?  If  his  words  prove  any  thing, 
they  undoubtedly  show  that  in  the  first  century  the  Christian  Church 
was  Episcopally  constituted ;  that  the  three  orders  of  the  Ministry 
were  regarded  as  of  Divine  institution,  and  considered  necessary 
to  the  regular  constitution  of  every  Church. 

We  next  cite  Poly  carp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna.  In  his  Epistle  to 
the  Philippians  he  says,  "  Poly  carp  and  the  presbyters  that  are  with 
him,  to  the  Church  of  God  which  is  at  Philippi,"  etc.  "  The  dea- 
cons must  be  blameless  as  the  ministers  of  God  in  Christ,  and  not 
of  men;"  u  being  subject  to  the  priests  and  deacons;  and  let  the 
elders  be  compassionate,  and  merciful  towards  all."  Here  again 
is  direct  evidence  against  that  parity  which  opposes  itself  to 
Episcopacy. 

We  come  to  the  second  century  ;  and  here  we  find  Irenseus,  the 
disciple  of  Poly  carp,  and  Bishop  of  Lyons,  A.D.  180,  using  the 
succession  of  Bishops  from  the  Apostles  as  an  argument  against 
heretics.  He  says,  "  We  can  reckon  up  those  whom  the  apostles 
ordained  to  be  bishops  in  the  several  churches,  and  who  they  were 
that  succeeded  them  down  to  our  time."  And  he  proceeds  to  give 
us  the  succession  from  the  Apostles  down  to  Eleutherius,  the  twelfth 
in  order,  who  was  Bishop  of  Rome  when  Irenceus  wrote.  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  the  contemporary  of  Irenseus,  enumerates  the  three 
several  and  distinct  orders,  with  their  respective  offices.  His  words 
are,  "  There  are  some  precepts  which  relate  to  presbyters,  others 
which  belong  to  bishops,  and  others  respecting  deacons." 

Tertullian,  a  celebrated  presbyter  of  the  Church  in  Africa,  lived 
at  the  close  of  the  second  and  in  the  fore-part  of  the  third  century. 
He  testifies  that  Bishops  were  settled  in  his  native  land,  and  had 
been  so  from  the  earliest  introduction  of  the  Gospel  into  the 
country.  Writing  against  heretics,  he  says,  "  Let  them  show  the 
order  of  their  bishops,  that,  by  their  succession  deduced  from 
the  beginning,  we  may  see  whether  their  first  bishop  had  any  of 


268  Appendix. 

the  apostles  or  apostolical  men,  who  did  likewise  persevere  with  the 
apostles,  for  his  founder  and  predecessors :  for  thus  the  apostolical 
churches  do  derive  their  succession,  as  the  church  of  /Smyrna  from 
Poly  carp,  whom  John  the  apostle  placed  there;  the  church  of  Home 
from  Clement,"  etc. 

Speaking  of  baptism,  Tertullian  says,  "  The  bishop  has  the  power 
of  conferring  baptism,  and  under  him  the  presbyters  and  deacons, 
but  not  without  the  authority  of  the  bishop." 

Origen,  another  famous  presbyter  of  the  same  age,  in  his  com- 
ment on  the  Lord's  Prayer,  has  these  words  :  "  There  is  a  debt  due 
to  deacons,  another  to  presbyters,  and  another  to  bishops,  which  is 
the  greatest  of  all,  and  exacted  by  the  Saviour  of  the  whole  church, 
and  who  will  severely  punish  the  non-payment  of  it." 

Cyprian,  Bishop  of  Carthage,  A.D.  240.  From  the  writings  of 
this  illustrious  Father,  we  might  compile  a  volume  upon  the  subject 
before  us.  He  expressly  refers  the  constitution  of  the  Ministry  in 
the  orders  of  Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons,  to  the  will  of 
Christ  and  the  Apostles. 

Ep.  xlv.  to  Cornelius,  Bishop  of  Rome :  "  We  ought  chiejly,  my 
brother,  to  endeavor  to  keep  that  unity  which  was  enjoined  by  our 
Lord  and  his  apostles  to  us  their  successors,  to  be  carefully  observed 
by  us." 

Ep.  Ixvi.  to  Florentius :  "  Christ  said  to  the  apostles,  and  by 
that,  to  all  Bishops  or  governors  of  his  church  who  succeed  the 
Apostles  by  vicarious  ordination,  and  are  in  their  stead,  '  He  that 
heareth  you  heareth  me.' ' 

Ep.  Ixxx.  Successio :  "  Valerian  (the  emperor)  wrote  to  the 
Senate,  that  the  Bishops  and  the  Presbyters  and  the  Deacons  should 
be  prosecuted." 

Optatus  Milevitanus,  A.D.  365,  Bishop  of  Mileve,  or  Mela,  in 
Africa  :  u  The  church  has  her  several  members,  bishops,  presbyters, 
deacons,  and  the  company  of  the  faithful." 

"  You  found  in  the  church,  deacons,  presbyters,  bishops;  you 
have  made  them  laymen;  acknowledge  that  you  have  subverted 
souls."  L.  2,  Con.  Parmenianum. 

If  the  time  allowed,  we  might  quote  from  Ambrose  of  Milan, 
A.D.  370  ;  Jerome,  A.D.  380  ;  St.  Augustine,  A.D.  420  ;  and 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  269 

many  others  both  before  and  after  them,  —  particularly  Eusebius, 
A.D.  320,  the  first  ecclesiastical  historian,  and  who  has  given  us 
catalogues  of  the  Bishops  by  name,  in  the  order  of  their  succes- 
sion, in  all  the  principal  Churches  from  the  Apostles  down  to  his 
time.  They  all  testif}'  to  the  threefold  constitution  of  the  Min- 
istry, and  the  authority  of  Bishops  to  ordain  and  to  govern  the 
Church.  We  might  quote  from  that  very  ancient  work,  certainly 
existing  in  the  third  century,  called  the  Apostolic  Canons,1  to 
prove  the  same  thing ;  from  the  decrees  of  councils,  in  ages  when 
the  faith,  doctrine,  and  order  of  the  Gospel  were  confessedly  kept 
pure  by  the  great  body  of  the  faithful.  We  might  travel  along 
down  the  stream  of  time,  through  all  the  adverse  and  prosperous 
conditions  of  the  Church,  — when  oppressed,  and  when  protected  ; 
when  maintaining  purity  of  doctrine  and  practice,  and  when  intro- 
ducing and  sanctioning  corruptions,  —  and  all  along  we  shall  find 
an  accumulation  of  evidence  to  the  fact  we  have  been  laboring  to 
establish,  that  Episcopacy  was  the  settled  order  and  government 
of  the  Church.  We  might  cite  abundant  authorities,  even  the 
most  learned  and  distinguished  of  those  who  have  rejected  Episco- 
pacy, to  show  that  from  the  second  century  down  to  the  sixteenth 
it  was  of  universal  prevalence  in  the  Christian  Church.  We  might 
bring  forward  the  Lutherans,  Calvin,  Beza,  Melanchthon,  and 
others,  to  prove  not  only  the  lawfulness  of  Episcopacy,2  but  the 
lamentable  necessity  which  some  of  them  pleaded  to  justify  their 
formation  of  another  and  different  system  of  Church  government. 
But  what  would  it  all  avail  ?  Men  of  this  age  have  become  wiser 
than  the  Apostles,  the  Fathers,  and  the  Reformers ;  wiser  and 
holier  than  those  who  sealed  their  testimony  to  Christ's  truth,  and 
their  fidelity  to  His  cause  with  their  blood  ;  and  they  ask,  What  are 
all  your  proofs  worth  ?  The  succession  is  incapable  of  proof,  or  it 

1  "The  Apostolic   Canons  are  eighty-five  ecclesiastical  laws,  or  rules, 
professedly  enacted  by  the  Apostles,  and  collected  and  preserved  by  Clemens 
Romanus.     The  matter  of  them  is  ancient;  for  they  describe  the  customs 
and  institutions    of    Christians,   particularly  of    the  Greek  and   Oriental 
Churches,  in  the  second  and  third  centuries.     But  the  phraseology  indicates 
a  compiler  living  in  the  third  century." — MURDOCH'S  MOSHEIM,  vol.  i. 
p.  224,  v.  13.     (New  Haven,  1832.) 

2  See  Appendix  A. 


270  Appendix. 

has  been  broken,  or  it  has  been  vitiated  and  rendered  worthless  by 
the  corruption  of  those  through  whose  hands  it  has  come  !  Let  us, 
then,  meet  them  on  these  grounds,  and  consider  these  their  strong 
reasons. 

1.  The  succession  is  incapable  of  proof.  Is  the  testimony  of 
Clement,  Ignatius,  Irenaeus,  Tertullian,  Origen,  Cyprian,  Eusebius, 
Ambrose,  Jerome,  Austin,  and  others,  sufficient  to  prove  the 
authenticity  and  uncorrupted  preservation  of  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  in  their  respective  ages  ?  Then  why  is  their  testimony 
to  be  rejected  when  it  equally  proves  the  establishment  and 
universal  prevalence  of  Episcopacy  ?  Is  the  New  Testament  to  be 
rejected  because  you  cannot  show  by  direct  and  positive  evidence 
that  it  was  in  existence  every  year  since  it  was  written  ?  Then 
why  is  Episcopacy  to  be  repudiated,  unless  you  prove  its  existence 
every  single  year,  by  positive  proof,  since  the  death  of  the  Apos- 
tles ?  But  copies  of  the  New  Testament  were  multiplied  very  soon, 
and  spread  over  the  world,  and  most  carefully  guarded  against 
alteration.  And  so  Bishops  were  multiplied  as  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel  spread  ;  and  their  office  was  neither  sought  after,  because 
it  was  the  post  of  chief  danger  in  times  of  persecution,  and  in  this 
state  the  Church  was  till  320  ;  and  the  office  itself  was  most  care- 
fully fenced  by  canons  against  intrusion  into  it,  or  unwarrantable 
assumption  of  its  powers.  The  first  of  the  Apostolical  Canons 
reads,  "  Let  a  Bishop  be  consecrated  by  two  or  three  Bishops." 

Now,  here  is  the  statement  of  a  principle,  brethren,  upon  which 
this  whole  controversy  about  the  succession  turns.  What  is  ordi- 
nation? It  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  designation  to  office, — 
or  the  right  to  exercise  certain  powers  delegated  by  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church  for  the  edification  of  his  members.  You  are  not  to 
imagine  that  we  hold  that  a  sort  of  mysterious  influence  or  invisible 
virtue  has  been  streaming  down  from  the  hands  of  Bishops,  upon 
the  heads  of  those  whom  they  have  ordained  in  all  past  ages,  and 
that  this  is  the  Apostolical  succession.  No !  It  is  simply  the 
right  to  exercise  certain  functions,  certified  by  its  proper  evidence. 
Ordination  is  a  thing  transacted  openly  and  publicly,  in  which 
ordinarily  many  persons  take  part.  But  the  Apostolical  Canon 
requires  that  a  Bishop  shall  be  ordained  by  at  least  two  or  three 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  271 

Bishops ;  and  the  proof  of  this  fact,  in  the  absence  of  miracles, 
is  the  proper  certificate  to  all  persons  that  the  person  ordained  is 
invested  with  that  delegated  authority,  which  he  could  not  of  right 
assume.  In  short,  ordination  is  the  regular  induction  to  office,  by 
lawful  authority,  in  opposition  to  its  unauthorized  and  arrogant 
assumption.  Now,  it  is  clear  that  such  a  fact  is  as  capable  of 
proof  as  any  other  fact.  And  consequently  a  succession  of  ordina- 
tions is  of  far  more  easy  proof  than  lineal  succession,  —  such,  for 
example,  as  the  succession  of  the  Aarouic  priesthood.  For  the 
ordination  of  a  Bishop  would  only  take  place  at  the  end  of  his 
predecessor's  life ;  consequently  the  proofs  would  have  to  be 
produced  at  long  intervals,  after  considerable  periods  of  time  had 
elapsed ;  and,  the  longer  a  Bishop  lived,  the  fewer  would  be  the 
number  of  links  in  the  chain  of  succession.  Thus  the  Episcopate 
of  the  late  Bishop  White  of  Pennsylvania  extended  through  fifty 
years ;  he  is  therefore  the  only  link  between  John  Moore,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  consecrated  Feb.  12,  1775,  and  Jackson 
Kemper,  the  present  Bishop  of  Missouri,  consecrated  by  Bishop 
White,  Sept.  25,  1835.  And  hence  :  — 

It  is  far  easier  to  trace  the  Episcopal  succession  through  hun- 
dreds of  years,  than  it  is  for  any  living  man  to  trace  his  descent  to 
his  great-grandfather.  The  truth  of  lineal  descent,  in  every  step, 
is  dependent  upon  the  veracity  of  a  single  witness,  and  that  is 
the  mother  in  each  case :  whereas  the  truth  and  certainty  of  the 
Episcopal  succession  are  made  evident  by  the  testimony  of  many 
witnesses  to  a  public  transaction,  which  is  made  matter  of  public 
record.  No  one  questions  the  succession  of  the  Aaronic  priest- 
hood, which  we  all  know  was  transmitted  by  carnal  descent ; 
although  the  truth  of  that  succession  depended,  in  each  descent, 
upon  the  single  testimony  of  a  woman  as  to  a  point  of  which  no 
human  being  besides  herself  could  have  any  certain  knowledge. 
And  yet,  with  such  a  fact  as  this  admitted  and  unquestioned,  men 
who  stand  up  before  the  people  to  argue  questions  of  theology 
will,  in  the  face  of  day,  gravely  assert  that  the  Apostolical  succes- 
sion is  incapable  of  proof ! 

Is  it  morally  possible,  think  you,  that  any  man  could  success- 
fully claim  and  exercise  the  Episcopal  office  in  the  Catholic  Church 


272  Appendix. 

of  this  country  or  in  England  at  this  day,  without  showing  that 
he  had  received  Episcopal  consecration  or  ordination  ?  You  know 
well  what  would  be  the  fate  of  any  such  effort :  you  know  that  it 
would  meet  with  the  ridicule  and  contempt  which  have  attended 
the  foolish  attempts  of  Dashiell  and  George  M.  West,  to  set  up  a 
pseudo-Episcopacy.  If,  then,  such  a  thing  be  morally  impossible 
now,  let  those  who  declaim  against  the  Apostolical  succession 
show  how  it  was  morally  possible  in  any  preceding  age  of  the 
Church,  acting  under  identically  the  same  rule  of  ordination  or 
consecration.  The  rule  of  the  Church  of  the  first  three  centuries 
was,  as  we  have  already  shown,  that  "  a  Bishop  be  ordained  by 
two  or  three  Bishops."  This  rule  is  repeated  at  the  general 
Council  of  Nice,  325  A.D.,  only  with  its  provisions  extended  so 
as  to  make  Episcopal  consecrations  more  difficult  of  performance, 
thereby  increasing  the  evidence  to  the  fact  in  each  case,  in  these 
words  :  "  A  Bishop  ought  to  be  constituted  by  all  the  Bishops  of 
the  province,  but  if  this  be  not  practicable,  by  reason  of  urgent 
necessity,  three  must  by  all  means  meet  together,  and,  with  the 
consent  of  those  that  are  absent,  let  them  perform  the  ordination." 
Such  was  the  regulation  established  in  every  Church  throughout 
the  world,  —  in  the  British,  the  Gallican,  the  Spanish,  the  Roman, 
the  Carthaginian,  the  Alexandrian,  the  Antiochean,  and  all  others. 
Such  is  nearly  the  identical  rule  that  prevails  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 

Trace  the  lines  of  Episcopal  succession  wherever  you  please, 
that  at  Canterbury,  at  Aries  or  Lyons  in  France,  or  at  Rome,  or 
at  Constantinople,  and  what  does  it  prove?  Wiry,  that  these 
Churches  never  allowed  of  any  other  than  Episcopal  consecration 
or  ordination.  If,  then,  the  rejecters  of  Episcopacy  will  take  any 
of  these  lists,  and  show  where  it  is  defective ;  if  they  will  show 
us  cause  to  believe  that  in  any  one  case,  or  in  any  number  of 
cases,  the  rule  established  throughout  the  Church  has  been  vio- 
lated or  neglected  or  evaded,  —  we  shall  then  have  before  us  a 
matter  admitting  of  discussion.  But  until  this  is  done  we  shall 
take  their  broad  declarations  about  the  Episcopal  succession,  as 
naked  assertions,  which  can  only  be  met  by  positive  and  direct 
and  unequivocal  denial.  (Appendix  B.) 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  273 

But  the  Episcopal  succession,  they  say,  has  been  broken. 
When  asked  in  what  instance,  we  are  referred  to  the  alleged 
elevation  of  a  woman  named  Joan,  to  the  Papacy  in  the  ninth 
century.  Now,  be  it  observed  here,  that,  whether  the  story  be 
true  or  false,  it  does  not  invalidate  the  succession  even  as  main- 
tained by  Romanists  ;  much  less  does  it  oppugn  the  strength  of  the 
argument  and  evidence  which  sustains  the  succession  in  the  Epis- 
copal Churches  which  have  dissented  from  Rome.  I  am  in  no 
way  concerned  to  prove  or  disprove  the  truth  of  the  story,  other- 
wise than  as  every  man  is  concerned  to  know  the  certainty  of 
history ;  for,  as  I  shall  show,  the  succession  for  which  we  contend, 
although  it  is  indirectly  connected  with  the  Roman  Church,  as 
Christianity  itself  at  one  time  was,  yet  it  does  not  run  through  the 
line  of  Roman  Pontiffs  at  all.  But  let  us  consider  the  story  itself. 
Mosheim,1  the  ecclesiastical  historian,  whose  author^  in  this  case 
at  least  will  not  be  questioned,  says  that  "  between  the  Pontificate 
of  Leo  IV.,  who  died  in  the  year  855,  and  that  of  Benedict  III.,  a 
certain  woman,  who  had  the  art  to  disguise  her  sex  for  a  consider- 
able time,  is  said  by  learning,  genius,  and  dexterity,  to  have  made 
good  her  way  to  the  papal  chair,  and  to  have  governed  the  Church 
with  the  title  and  dignity  of  Pontiff  about  two  years."  After 
stating  that  this  story  gave  rise  to  long  and  imbittered  discussion, 
some  asserting  and  others  denying  its  truth,  he  expresses  his  opin- 
ion that  some  unusual  event  had  occurred  at  Rome,  and  concludes 
by  observing  that  "  what  it  was  that  gave  rise  to  this  story  is  yet 
to  be  discovered,  and  is  likely  to  remain  so."  According  to  his- 
tory, the  whole  rests  upon  a  say  so :  it  is  at  best  but  a  flimsy  argu- 
ment, that  can  be  constructed  upon  so  insecure  a  foundation.  But 
take  it  as  all  true,  out  and  out,  does  it  invalidate  the  Episcopal 
succession?  Not  at  all.  For,  first  of  all,  if  it  did,  it  must  be 
shown  that  the  Popes  of  Rome  consecrate  Bishops  —  which  they 
do  not ;  and,  secondly,  it  must  be  shown  that  during  the  two  years 
in  which  Joan  is  said  to  have  swayed  the  papal  sceptre,  all  the 

1  Gieseler,  who  cares  little  for  the  Apostolical  succession,  shows  that  the 
alleged  Papacy  of  Joan  is  not  only  apocryphal,  but  chronologically  impossi- 
ble; there  being  scarce  any  interval  between  Leo  IV.  and  Benedict  III. 
See  Cunningham's  Translation,  vol.  ii.  p.  20.  (Philadelphia  edition.) 


274  Appendix. 

Bishops  in  the  Roman  Church  must  have  died,  and  that  Joan  her- 
self consecrated  successors  to  them  —  and  this  would  indeed  have 
broken  the  chain  of  Roman  succession.  But  it  must  be  shown, 
thirdly,  in  order  to  invalidate  the  succession  in  other  Churches, 
that  all  the  Bishops  the  world  over  must  have  died  in  those  two 
years,  —  that  the  Churches  in  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Italy, 
Spain,  in  all  Greece,  in  all  Africa,  in  all  the  East,  lost  all  their 
Bishops  within  those  two  years  when  Joan  was  in  the  papal  chair. 
Now,  willing  as  we  are  to  stretch  the  line  of  credulity  to  the  meas- 
ure of  other  men's  demands,  in  order  to  please  them,  this  is  rather 
farther  than  in  reason  or  in  common  sense  we  can  go.  The  truth 
is,  that  those  who  have  thrown  away  Episcopacy  feel  bound  to 
show  reason  for  abandoning  an  institution  so  ancient,  and  attended 
by  so  many  marks  of  its  Scriptural  authority ;  and,  being  hard 
pressed  for  arguments,  they  have  caught  at  this  story  about  Pope 
Joan,  which  combines  the  plausible  with  the  ridiculous,  to  demolish 
the  whole  theory,  as  they  think,  of  the  Apostolical  succession. 
Thej7  know  well  that  ridicule  often  prevails  when  solid  arguments 
are  lacking ;  and,  boldly  asserting  that  a  woman  was  once  Pope, 
ask  what  is  such  a  succession  worth?  as  though  they  had  de- 
stro}Ted  the  Apostolical  succession  by  showing  that  a  link  was 
lacking  in  the  Roman  chain  !  But  I  would  ask,  What  becomes  of 
the  succession  in  the  British  Church?  The  Bishops  of  that 
Church  were  not  consecrated  by  the  Pope  of  Rome.  The  same 
may  be  asked  of  any  other  Church :  what  becomes  of  the  succes- 
sion in  Spain,  in  France,  in  Sweden,  Denmark,  Norway,  in  Greece, 
in  other  Eastern  Churches?  Wlvy,  had  the  Pope  undertaken  to 
consecrate  Bishops  for  all  these,  he  might  have  abandoned  every 
thing  else,  and  the  triple  crown  had  sat  heavily  indeed  on  his  brows, 
—  too  heavily,  indeed,  for  any  mortal  to  bear!  The  truth  is,  as 
before  stated  the  Pope  does  not  consecrate  Bishops  at  all,  —  unless 
it  be  some  in  Rome  or  parts  adjacent,  of  which  I  am  not  certainly 
informed  one  way  or  the  other,  —  and  therefore  the  validity  of  the 
succession  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  who  is  Pope,  or 
whether  there  be  any  Pope  at  all.  One  remark  more,  before  quit- 
ting this  part  of  the  subject :  I  would  ask  those  who  are  so  fond 
of  quoting  Pope  Joan  and  her  reign  of  two  j'ears,  to  destroy  the 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  275 

succession,  whether  the  usurpation  of  Queen  Athaliah  for  six  years 
of  the  throne  of  David,  and  the  destruction  by  her  of  all  the  seed 
royal  but  Joash,  vitiated  the  promise  of  God  to  David  that  a  man 
should  not  fail  him  to  sit  upon  his  throne  !  Did  the  intrusion  of 
Athaliah  for  six  years  destroy  or  break  the  line  of  succession 
of  kings  to  come  from  his  loins,  or  invalidate  God's  promise? 

But  after  all,  say  the  opponents  of  the  Apostolical  succession, 
although  you  make  out  your  case  by  historical  testimony,  yet  the 
succession  comes  through  channels  so  impure  that  we  cannot 
receive  it.  This  objection  is  grounded  on  the  gratuitous  assump- 
tion, that  the  succession  must  be  traced  through  the  Roman  Pon- 
tiffs. Now,  as  already  stated,  the  succession  does  not  run  in  this 
channel,  because  the  Pontiff  does  not  consecrate.  We  will  state 
here,  upon  the  authority  of  the  Romish  canon  law,  what  power 
the  Pope  does  claim  in  reference  to  Bishops,  that  we  may  see  how 
far  his  pretensions  interfere,  if  good,  with  the  validity  of  the 
succession:  "The  Pope  holds  the  place  of  God  in  the  earth,  so 
that  he  can  confer  ecclesiastical  benefices  without  diminution."  In 
opposition  to  this  claim,  Henry  VIII.  proclaimed  himself  head  of 
the  realm  and  Church  of  England.  Again  :  "  The  translation,  the 
deposition,  or  resignation  of  a  Bishop,  is  reserved  to  the  Roman 
Pontiff  alone,  not  so  much  by  any  canonical  constitution  as  by  the 
Divine  institution."  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  you  that  this 
claim  was  long  and  successfully  resisted  by  the  British  Church, 
and  that  it  was  ever  opposed  by  the  Greek  and  Oriental  churches. 
It  has  ever  been  the  policy  of  the  Pope  to  diminish  the  power 
of  Bishops,  and  nothing  has  he  labored  more  to  destroy  than  an 
independent  Episcopacy.  No  barrier  stands  so-  much  in  his  way 
now  as  the  Episcopacy  of  the  English  Church  and  that  of  the 
independent  Eastern  dioceses :  the  independence  of  dioceses  pre- 
sents, in  fact,  the  most  effectual  check  to  that  consolidation  of 
power  which  Rome  has  long  endeavored  to  effect  by  concentrating 
all  rule  and  authority  in  the  hands  of  the  Pope.  Our  own  system 
of  Church  government  in  the  United  States  is  a  confederacy  of 
independent  dioceses,  and  like  the  State  sovereignties,  by  having 
each  its  own  governor  and  legislative  assembly  or  council,  effec- 
tually counteracts  the  tendency  to  consolidation.  Once  more,  the 


276  Appendix. 

canon  law  sajrs :  "As  the  translation,  the  deposition,  and  resig- 
nation of  Bishops,  so  likewise  the  confirmation  of  those  who  are 
elected,  after  their  election,  is  reserved  to  the  Roman  Pontiff 
alone,  by  reason  of  the  spiritual  bond."  Not  one  word  about 
consecration.  These  are  the  claims  of  the  Pope,  —  exorbitant 
enough,  as  all  will  allow :  but  remember  that  these  claims  were 
not  always  admitted ;  and,  had  they  been  so,  we  see  not  how  the 
admitting  of  them  can  destroy  or  corrupt  the  succession.  For 
although  the  Bishops  in  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Western  Church 
did  at  one  time  yield  to  and  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the 
Roman  Pontiff,  still  that  did  not  deprive  or  divest  them  of 
the  right  and  authority  to  ordain,  —  a  right  which  they  always 
claimed  in  virtue  of  their  office,  and  which  they  always  continued 
to  exercise.  It  was  only  so  late  as  the  Council  of  Trent  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  that  the  question  was  agitated  whether  the  Bishops 
held  their  office  "  de  jure  divino,"  or  "  de  jure  pontifico;  "  i.e., 
from  Christ  or  the  Pope.  The  Archbishop  of  Grenada  strenuously 
maintained  in  the  council,  that  "wheresoever  a  Bishop  shall  be, 
whether  in  Rome  or  in  Augubium,  all  are  of  the  same  merit,  and 
of  the  same  priesthood,  and  all  successors  of  the  Apostles.  He 
inveighed  against  those  who  said  St.  Peter  had  ordained  the  other 
Apostles,  Bishops.  He  admonished  the  council  to  study  the 
Scriptures,  and  observe  that  power  to  teach  throughout  the  world, 
to  administer  the  sacraments,  and  to  govern  the  Church,  is  equally 
given  to  all.  And  therefore  as  the  Apostles  had  authority,  not 
from  Peter,  but  from  Christ,  so  the  successors  of  the  Apostles 
have  not  power  from  Peter,  but  from  Christ  himself."  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris  manfully  upheld  the  same  sentiments,  nor  did  they 
meet  with  opposition  in  the  council,  but  from  the  Monks,  Jesuits, 
Legates,  and  Cardinals.  It  is  through  these,  who  are  not  of  the 
regular  order  of  the  Clergy,  that  the  Pope  has  ever  endeavored 
to  enlarge  and  strengthen  his  power.  The  conclave  which  elects 
the  Pope  consists  of  seventy  Cardinals  in  all,  of  which  six  only 
are  Bishops,  fifty  of  them  Priests,  and  the  rest  Deacons:  from 
which  it  is  clear  that  he  relies  much  more  upon  the  Presbytery 
than  any  thing  else,  for  the  gift  and  maintenance  of  his  authority. 
But  suppose,  for  argument's  sake,  that  the  succession  does 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  277 

come  through  the  Roman  Church,  —  that  the  Pope  did  confirm  the 
election  of  Bishops,  and  order  their  consecration  by  other  Bishops, 
which  is  the  utmost  that  can  be  said :  does  this  invalidate  or 
vitiate  the  succession  ?  Why,  we  might  just  as  well  say  that  the 
pure  faith  or  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  which  all  the  reformed 
Churches  now  teach,  is  corrupted  and  vitiated  because  it  passed 
through  the  hands  of  the  Romanists.  They  had  in  their  keeping 
at  one  time  the  Bible,  to  the  very  same  extent  that  they  had  in 
their  keeping  the  power  of  ordination.  If  the  Word  of  salvation 
has  been  transmitted  to  us  through  their  instrumentality,  and  we 
now  have  it  in  its  simplicity  and  integrity,  why  may  we  not  have 
the  authority  to  administer  that  Word,  transmitted  through  the 
same  channel,  in  its  integrity  also?  Were  the  doctrine  and  sac- 
raments of  Christ's  religion  corrupted  by  the  Church  of  Rome? 
so  was  the  order  of  the  Gospel.  Were  these  corruptions  rejected 
and  thrown  off  at  the  Reformation,  in  respect  to  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel?  so  were  they  also  in  respect  to  the  order  of  the  Gospel 
ministry.  So  that  there  exists  not  one  reason  for  rejecting  Epis- 
copacy because  of  its  having  passed  through  the  Roman  Church, 
that  does  not  apply  with  equal  strength,  on  the  same  grounds,  for 
rejecting  the  Gospel  itself. 

The  idea  that  the  succession  is  vitiated  by  its  having  come 
through  an  impure  channel,  gains  no  countenance  whatever  from 
the  sentiments  and  practice  of  men  in  other  things.  Thus  the 
truth  of  God  was  not  less  His  truth  because  it  was  proclaimed  by 
Balaam  and  afterwards  by  Judas.  The  sacrament  of  baptism  is 
not  less  a  sacrament  to  him  who  receives  it,  because  the  Minister 
who  performs  it  shall  afterwards  prove  to  be  an  unholy  and  wicked 
man.  His  wickedness  furnishes  a  just  reason  for  depriving  him 
of  office,  but  affects  not  the  validity  of  the  act  which  he  executed 
by  virtue  of  the  delegated  authority  with  which  he  was  invested. 
If  it  were  otherwise ;  if  our  faith  were  directed  to  the  Minister, 
and  not  to  Christ  the  institutor  of  the  ordinance,  and  if  we  cannot 
be  certain  of  receiving  the  sacraments  until  positively  certified  and 
assured  of  the  piety  of  him  who  administers  them,  —  we  never 
(can  be  certain  of  receiving  them  at  all. 

Again :  take  the  position  that  the  channel  of  transmission  cor- 


278  Appendix. 

rupts  that  which  descends  through  it,  and  what  do  you  make  of 
the  holy  Saviour  of  the  world?  Trace  the  line  of  succession 
through  which  the  promised  Deliverer,  the  holy  seed  of  salvation, 
came  according  to  the  flesh ;  and  then  ask  yourselves,  are  you 
prepared  to  admit  the  principles  contended  for?  There  is,  in  the 
line  of  the  Saviour's  ancestry,  Rahab  the  harlot;  Tamar,  who 
sought  and  obtained  incestuous  connection  with  her  own  father- 
in-law  ;  there  is  Ruth  the  Moabitess,  the  offspring  of  Lot  and  his 
own  daughter ;  there  is  Bathsheba,  the  wife  of  Uriah  the  Hittite, 
who  admitted  the  adulterous  embraces  of  David.  If,  then,  the 
promised  seed  of  redemption  was  neither  tainted  nor  destroj'ed  by 
transmission  through  this  line  of  ancestral  succession,  —  and  it 
would  be  impious  to  say  so,  — why  should  it  be  supposed  that  the 
spiritual  seed  for  the  ministration  of  salvation  has  suffered  injury 
or  been  destroyed  because  some  of  the  agents  for  transmitting  it 
have  shown  themselves  as  unworthy  of  the  high  honor  vouchsafed 
to  them  as  those  pointed  out  in  the  line  of  the  Saviour's  ancestry  ? 

But  let  us  carry  the  principle  contended  for,  to  its  practical 
results,  by  applying  it  to  those  who  most  strongly  urge  its  force. 

The  Bishops  of  the  British  Church  were  in  communion  with  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  and,  Rome  being  a  corrupt  Church,  therefore 
ordination  by  the  British  Bishops  is  worth  nothing.  We  might 
ask  here,  What,  then,  was  the  worth  of  Mr.  Wesley's  ordination, 
since  he  received  it  from  a  British  Bishop  ?  But  we  will  let  that 
pass  for  the  present. 

The  great  plea  which  the  Methodists  put  in  to  justify  their 
separation  from  the  Church,  and  their  setting  up  a  different  Com- 
munion, was,  that  the  Church  of  England  was  a  corrupt  Church. 
In  the  letter  of  the  Methodist  Bishops  to  their  members,  prefixed 
to  their  Book  of  Discipline,  they  quote  the  words  of  the  Messrs. 
Wesley,  saying,  "  God  then  (1737)  thrust  them  out  to  raise  a  holy 
people."  In  ch.  i.  s.  1,  they  speak  of  being  convinced  '•'•that 
there  was  a  great  deficiency  of  vital  religion  in  the  Church  of 
England  in  America."  The  Book  of  Discipline  proceeds  to  state 
that  Mr.  John  Wesley  did  "  solemnly  set  apart  by  the  imposition 
of  his  hands,  and  prayer,  Thomas  Coke,  Doctor  of  Civil  Law^ 
late  of  Jesus  College,  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  a  Presbyter 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  279 

of  the  Church  of  England,  for  the  Episcopal  office."  l  Now,  if 
the  plea  of  corruption  can  be  made  good  against  the  Church  of 
England,  and  there  was  "  a  great  deficiency  of  vital  piety  "  in  it, 
so  that  the  Methodists  felt  constrained  to  withdraw  and  set  up  for 
themselves,  I  desire  to  ask  whether  Mr.  Wesley's  maintaining 
communion  with  this  corrupt  Church,  deficient  as  it  was  "in  vital 
piety,"  and  his  continuing  in  that  communion  to  the  dajr  of  his 
death,  and  his  declaring  that  he  believed  it  the  purest  national 
Church  in  the  world,  —  whether  all  this  does  not  destroy  the 
validity  of  his  ordination  of  Thomas  Coke,  LL.D.,  Fellow  of 
Jesus  College,  Oxford,  etc.  In  a  word,  if  communion  with  Rome 
destroy,  because  of  Rome's  corruptions,  the  ministerial  authority, 
does  not  the  communion  of  Mr.  Wesley  with  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land destroy,  because  of  its  corruptions,  his  authority  to  ordain 
also  ?  If  the  principle  contended  for  avail  in  one  case,  why  not  in 
both?  If  not  in  both,  why  in  either? 

We  are  not  concerned  to  answer  these  questions,  brethren  ;  nor 
are  we  disposed  to  press  the  subject  further  at  present  upon  the 
attention  of  those  whose  sensibility  is  the  more  easily  excited, 
when  investigation  is  directed  to  the  weak  points  of  their  system. 
The  man  whose  title-deeds  are  defective,  above  all  others,  is  sensi- 
tive to  any  intimation  of  a  flaw  of  which  he  -is  painfully  conscious 
himself.  And  so  it  is  in  religious  systems  :  the  upholders  of  them 
know  their  defects,  and  these  they  keep  out  Of  view,  and  manifest 
any  thing  but  a  gracious  temper  towards  those  who  would  examine 
into  them. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  just  remind  you,  that  we  have  showed 
from  Scripture  that  the  office  of  the  Ministry  is  a  delegated  author- 
ity, and  that  the  Ministry  of  the  Apostolic  Church  consisted  of 
three  orders.  We  have  endeavored  to  establish  by  argument,  that 
a  Ministry  thus  constituted  was  left  by  the  Apostles  in  the  Church 
when  they  quitted  the  earth.  We  have  arrayed  before  you  the 
testimony  of  credible  witnesses  to  prove  that  this  Ministry,  so 
constituted,  was  continued  in  the  Church  till  such  time  as  is  ac- 
knowledged on  all  hands,  that  it  prevailed  universally  and  without 

1  See  Appendix  C. 


280  Appendix. 

a  single  exception  in  any  country.     We  have  argued,  and  as  we 
think  conclusively,  that  it  was  morally  impossible  for  the  chain 
of  Episcopal  succession  to  be  broken,  and  that  any  such  alleged 
interruption  is  destitute  of  proof.     We  have  considered  the  objec- 
tion grounded  on  the  Papal  corruptions  to  vitiate  or  invalidate  the 
succession,  and  shown  that  it  is  without  force.     It  may  be  asked, 
then,  whether,  if  the  position  we  take  upon  this  subject  be  made 
good,  we  do  not  unchurch  all  other  denominations  of  Christians, 
and  leave  them  to  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God  ?     I  reply,  in 
the  first  place,  we  do  not  unchurch  them.     It  is  an  inference  which 
those  make  who,  by  a  voluntary  act  of  their  own,  have  separated 
themselves  from  that  order  of  the  Gospel  which  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  prove  was  established  in  the  primitive  Church.    It  is  there- 
fore unjust  and  ungenerous  to  charge  us  with  consequences  which 
do  not  flow  from  any  act  of  ours,  but  which  are  the  legitimate 
results  of  their  own  deliberate  proceedings.     We  have  endeavored, 
in  every  possible  way  consistent  with  Christian  charity,  to  prevent 
these  divisions ;   and  come  what  may,  charge  upon  us  whatever 
men  may  please,  we  can  never  for  a  moment,  by  word  or  act,  give 
any  countenance  or  sanction  to  the  infidel  maxim,  that  division 
into  sects  is  advantageous  to  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety,  while 
the  affecting  prayer  of  Christ  for  the  unity  of  His  Church  shall  be 
received  and  acknowledged  as  part  and  parcel  of  Divine  revelation  : 
"  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall 
believe  on  me  through  their  word ;  that  they  all  may  be  one ;  as 
Thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one 
in  us  :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  me." l    No, 
we  shall  do  all  we  can  by  declaring  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and 
by  fair  argument,  by  instructing  those  who  oppose  themselves  to 
us,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  and  by  endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  to  bring  all  believers  to  "  that 
agreement  in  the  faith  and  knowledge  of  God,  and  that  ripeness 
and  perfectness  of  age  in  Christ,  that  there  be  left  no  place  among 
them,  either  for  error  in  religion,  or  for  viciousness  in  life."  2 
How  far  the  various  bodies  of  professed  Christians  around  us, 

1  St.  John  xvii.  20,  21.  2  Ordinal. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  281 

united  under  rules  and  regulations  for  their  government,  which 
they  have  drawn  from  the  Word  of  God,  and  sanctioned  by  what 
they  honestly  believe  to  be  a  just  and  fair  interpretation  of  its 
meaning,  —  how  far  they  are  to  be  regarded  as  Churches  of  Christ, 
I  shall  not  undertake  to  say.  I  honestly  think  it  is  a  matter 
admitting  of  serious  question.  While  I  freely  concede  that  some  of 
them  preach  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  this  faith,  wherever 
received,  will  manifest,  and  does  in  them  manifest,  its  appropriate 
fruits  in  righteousness,  in  charity,  and  in  hope  ;  still  candor  obliges 
me  to  declare,  that  in  the  exercise  of  the  best  reason  and  judgment 
which  God  has  given  me,  and  enlightened  by  all  the  information 
which  the  most  diligent  search  has  afforded  to  my  mind,  I  think 
them  destitute  of  an  essential  feature  or  mark  of  the  visible  Catho- 
lic Church  of  Christ :  that  is,  a  Ministry  deriving  authority  to  act  in 
the  appointments  of  religion,  from  the  Apostles.  At  the  same  time, 
I  grant  that  their  ecclesiastical  organizations  have  all  the  force  and 
obligation,  on  those  who  have  submitted  to  their  authority,  which 
the  most  solemn  vows  and  engagements  can  bring  upon  the  soul. 
Their  ordinances,  administered  by  the  Ministry  which  they  have, 
—  such,  for  example,  as  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  —  are 
to  those  who  receive  them,  with  the  understanding  they  have  of 
their  nature  and  obligation,  properly  sacraments, — just  as  much 
so  as  an  oath  taken  before  a  private  citizen,  instead  of  a  magistrate 
or  judge,  is  binding  on  the  conscience  of  him  who  takes  it.  (See 
Appenix  D.) 

And  now,  is  there  just  reason  to  charge  upon  such  sentiments 
the  odium  of  illiberality  and  uncharitableness  ?  It  is  often  said 
that  the  differences  among  Christians  are  unimportant,  —  not  of 
that  grave  and  serious  character  to  cause  emulations,  strifes,  and 
divisions.  If  so,  why  do  not  those  who  have  gone  out  from  us 
return?  and  why  should  every  attempt  like  the  present,  to  state 
the  true  grounds  of  difference,  be  frowned  upon  as  ungracious, 
and  be  met  by  the  weapons  which  calumny  employs  against  stub- 
born facts,  honest  statements,  and  candid  and  fair  arguments? 
We  have  no  wish  whatever  to  multiply  causes  of  difference  between 
ourselves  and  other  denominations  of  Christians.  On  the  contrary, 
the  terms  of  communion  which  the  Episcopal  Church  requires  are 


282  Appendix. 

so  free  and  liberal  as  more  frequently  to  give  others  occasion  to 
charge  her  with  laxity,  than  afford  fair  opportunity  to  them,  as  she 
justly  does,  to  commend  her  Catholic  spirit.  She  offers  no  dis- 
puted points  in  theology  as  tests  to  her  members  of  the  soundness 
of  their  Christian  character ;  but  stating  the  facts  and  doctrines  of 
the  Apostles'  Creed  as  the  articles  of  her  faith,  and  inculcating 
charity,  she  prays  for  "  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians, that  they  may  be  led  into  the  way  of  truth,  and  hold  the 
faith  in  unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness 
of  life."  She  goes  farther  ;  and,  in  accordance  with  the  Apostle's 
directions  that  prayers  and  supplications  be  offered  up  for  all  men, 
the  language  of  her  Liturgy  is,  that  it  "  may  please  God  to  have 
mercy  upon  all  men."  She  stops  not  here;  but  in  obedience  to 
the  blessed  Saviour's  injunctions,  and  in  the  spirit  of  His  meek 
and  lowly  example,  instructs  us  to  pray  "  that  it  may  please  Thee 
to  forgive  our  enemies,  persecutors,  and  slanderers,  and  to  turn 
their  hearts." 

Such  is  the  spirit  I  pray  may  rule  evermore  in  my  heart.  And 
while  I  shall  ' '  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints,"  and  "speak  the  truth  boldly  as  I  ought  to  speak," 
God  being  my  helper,  I  shall  endeavor  to  utter  not  a  word  or  senti- 
ment inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  sincerity  and  truth  in  which 
that  prayer  should  be  offered. 

APPENDIX  A. 

p.  269.  "  I  allow  that  each  state  ought  to  have  one  Bishop  of  its 
own  by  divine  right;  which  I  show  from  Paul,  saying,  'For  this 
cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete.'  "  — M.  LUTHER. 

"  The  Bishops  might  easily  retain  the  obedience  due  unto  them, 
if  they  urged  us  not  to  keep  those  traditions  which  we  cannot  keep 
with  a  good  conscience."  —  MELANCHTHON. 

"We  have  often  protested  that  we  do  greatly  approve  the 
ecclesiastical  polity  and  degrees  in  the  Church,  and,  as  much  as 
lieth  in  us,  do  desire  to  conserve  them."  — MELANCHTHON. 

4 '  I  would  to  God  it  lay  in  me  to  restore  the  government  of 
Bishops.  For  I  see  what  manner  of  Church  we  shall  have,  the 
ecclesiastical  polity  being  dissolved.  I  do  see  that  hereafter  will 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  283 

grow  up  in  the  Church  a  greater  tyranny  than  there  ever  was 
before. ' '  —  MELANCHTHON. 

"  By  what  right  or  law  may  we  dissolve  the  ecclesiastical  polity, 
if  the  Bishops  will  grant  to  us,  that  which  in  reason  they  ought  to 
grant  ?  And  if  it  were  lawful  for  us  to  do  so,  yet  surely  it  were 
not  expedient.  Luther  was  ever  of  this  opinion."  — MELANCHTHON. 

"  Zwingle  has  sent  hither,  in  print,  his  confession  of  faith. 
You  would  say  neither  more  nor  less,  than  that  he  is  not  in  his 
senses.  At  one  stroke,  he  would  abolish  all  ceremonies,  and  he 
would  have  no  Bishops."  —  MELANCHTHON. 

"  If  they  will  give  us  such  an  hierarchy,  in  which  the  Bishops 
have  such  a  pre-eminence  as  that  they  do  not  refuse  to  be  subject 
unto  Christ,  I  will  confess  that  they  are  worthy  of  all  anathemas , 
if  any  such  there  be,  who  will  not  reverence  it,  and  submit  them- 
selves to  it  with  the  utmost  obedience."  —  CALVIN. 

Of  Calvin's  Episcopal  opinions,  Mons.  Daille,  a  French  Protes- 
tant divine,  thus  writes :  u  Calvin  honored  all  Bishops  that  were 
not  subjects  of  the  Pope,  such  as  were  the  prelates  of  England. 
We  confess  that  the  foundation  of  their  charge  is  good  and 
lawful,  established  by  the  Apostles  according  to  the  command  of 
Christ." — BINGHAM'S  French  Church's  Apology  for  the  Church 
of  England. 

Mons.  De  1' Angle,  another  divine  of  the  same  Church,  thus 
writes  to  the  Bishop  of  London:  "Calvin,  in  his  treatise  of  the 
necessity  of  the  Reformation,  makes  no  difficulty  to  say,  that  if 
there  should  be  any  so  unreasonable  as  to  refuse  the  communion 
of  a  Church  that  was  pure  in  its  worship  and  doctrine,  and  not  to 
submit  himself  with  respect  to  its  government,  under  pretence, 
that  it  had  retained  an  Episcopacy  qualified  as  yours  is,  there 
would  be  no  censure  or  rigor  of  discipline  that  ought  not  to  be 
exercised  upon  them."  —  STILLINGFLEET'S  Unreasonableness  of 
Separation,  at  the  end. 

"  It  was  essential,  that,  by  the  perpetual  ordination  of  God,  it 
was,  it  is,  and  it  will  be  necessary,  that  some  one  in  the  Presby- 
tery, chief  both  in  place  and  dignity,  should  preside  to  govern  the 
proceedings,  by  that  right  which  is  given  him  of  God."  — BEZA. 

"  In  my  writings  touching  Church  government,  I  ever  impugned 


284 


Appendix. 


the  Romish  hierarchy,  but  never  intended  to  touch  or  impugn  the 
ecclesiastical  polity  of  the  Church  of  England."  —  BEZA. 

"  If  there  are  any,  as  you  will  not  easily  persuade  me,  who 
would  reject  the  whole  order  of  Bishops,  God  forbid  that  any  man 
in  his  senses  should  assent  to  their  madness.  Let  her  (Church  of 
England)  enjoy  that  singular  blessing  (Episcopacy)  of  G-od,  which 
I  pray  may  be  perpetual."  — BEZA. 

"By  the  perpetual  observation  of  all  Churches,  even  from  the 
Apostles'  times,  we  see  that  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  that 
among  Presbyters,  to  whom  the  procuration  of  Churches  was  chiefly 
committed,  there  should  be  one  that  should  have  the  care  or  charge 
of  divers  Churches,  and  the  whole  Ministry  committed  to  him ; 
and  by  reason  of  that  charge  he  was  above  the  rest ;  and  therefore 
the  name  of  Bishop  was  attributed  peculiarly  to  those  chief  rulers." 
—  BUCER,  De  Cura,  etc. 

"  Of  the  Episcopate,  therefore,  —  that  is,  the  superiority  of  one 
Pastor  above  the  rest,  —  we  first  determine  that  it  is  repugnant  to 
no  divine  law.  If  any  one  think  otherwise,  that  is,  if  any  one 
condemn  the  whole  ancient  Church  of  folly  or  even  of  impiety,  the 
burden  of  proof  beyond  doubt  lies  upon  him,  etc.  The  very  Min- 
istry instituted  by  the  Apostles  sufficiently  proves  that  equality  of 
the  ecclesiastical  offices  was  not  commanded  by  Christ.  We,  there- 
fore, first  lay  down  this,  which  is  undoubtedly  true:  that  it  (viz., 
the  Episcopate,  or  superiority  of  one  Pastor  above  the  rest)  neither 
can  nor  ought  to  be  found  fault  with ;  in  which  we  have  agreeing 
with  us,  Zanchius,  Chemnitius,  Hemmingius,  Calvin,  Melanchthon, 
Bucer,  and  even  Beza,  as  thus  far  he  says,  that  one  certain  person, 
chosen  by  the  judgment  of  the  rest  of  his  co-presbyters,  was  chief 
over  the  Presbytery,  and  was  permanently  so. 

"Another  is,  that  that  Episcopate,  which  we  treat  of,  was 
received  by  the  universal  Church.  This  appears  from  all  the  coun- 
cils, whose  authority  now  likewise  is  very  great  among  the  pious. 
It  appears  also  from  an  examination  of  the  councils  either  national 
or  provincial,  of  which  there  is  almost  none  which  does  not  show 
manifest  signs  of  Episcopal  superiority.  All  the  Fathers,  without 
exception,  testify  the  same  ;  of  whom  he  who  shows  least  deference 
to  the  Episcopate  is  Jerome,  himself  not  a  Bishop,  but  a  Presbyter. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  285 

Therefore  the  testimony  of  him  alone  is  sufficient :  '  It  was  decreed 
through  the  whole  world,  that  one  chosen  from  the  Presbyters  should 
be  set  over  the  rest,  to  whom  all  care  of  the  Church  should  belong.' 
Indeed,  this  error  of  JErius  was  condemned  by  the  whole  Church, 
that  he  said  that  a  Presbyter  ought  to  be  distinguished  from  a 
Bishop  by  no  difference.  Jerome  himself,  in  reply  to  him  who  had 
written  that  there  is  no  difference  between  a  Bishop  and  a  Presby- 
ter, answered,  This  is  unskilfully  enough  to  make  shipwreck  in 
port,  as  it  is  said.  Even  Zanchius  acknowledges  the  agreement 
of  the  whole  Church  in  this  matter. 

"The  third  thing  is  this,  that  the  Episcopate  had  its  commence- 
ment in  the  time  of  the  Apostles.  The  catalogues  of  the  Bishops 
in  Irenaeus,  Eusebius,  Socrates,  Theodoret,  and  others,  all  of 
which  begin  in  the  Apostolic  age,  testified  this.  But  to  refuse 
credit  in  an  historical  matter  to  so  great  authors,  and  so  unani- 
mous among  themselves,  is  not  the  part  of  any  but  an  irreverent 
and  stubborn  disposition.  For  that  is  just  as  if  you  should  deny 
that  it  was  true,  what  all  histories  of  the  Romans  declare,  that 
the  consulate  began  from  the  expelled  Tarquins.  But  let  us  hear 
Jerome  again:  'At  Alexandria,'  he  says,  '•from  Mark  the  Evan- 
gelist, the  Presbyters  always  named  one  chosen  from  themselves, 
placed  in  a  higher  degree,  Bishop.' 

"Mark  died  in  the  eighth  year  of  Nero:  to  whom  succeeded 
Anianus  ;  to  Anianus,  Abilius  ;  to  Abilius,  Cerdo,  the  Apostle  John 
being  jret  alive.  After  the  death  of  James,  Simeon  had  the  Epis- 
copate of  Jerusalem  ;  after  the  death  of  Peter  and  Paul,  Linus, 
Anacletus,  and  Clemens  had  the  Roman ;  and  Euodius  and  Igna- 
tius, that  of  Antioch,  the  same  Apostle  still  living.  This  ancient 
history  is  surely  not  to  be  despised,  to  which  Ignatius  himself,  the 
contemporary  of  the  Apostles,  and  Justin  Martyr  and  Irenaeus, 
who  followed  him  next,  afford  the  most  open  testimony  which 
there  is  no  need  to  transcribe.  '  Now  indeed,'  saj's  C}Tprian, 
'Bishops  are  appointed  in  all  the  provinces  and  in  every  city.' 

"  Let  the  fourth  be,  that  this  Bishop  was  approved  of  by  the 
Divine  law,  or  (as  Bucer  says)  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  one  among  the  Presbj'ters  should  have  special  charge.  The 
Divine  revelation  affords  to  this  assertion  an  argument  not  to  be 


286  Appendix. 

withstood ;  for  Christ  himself  commands  it  to  be  written  to  the 
seven  angels  of  the  Asiatic  Churches.  Those  who  understand  the 
Churches  themselves  by  the  angels,  manifestly  contradict  the  sacred 
writings.  For  the  candlesticks  are  the  Churches,  says  Christ :  but 
the  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  Churches.  It  is  wonderful 
whither  the  humor  of  contradicting  may  not  cany  men,  when  they 
dare  to  confound  those  things  which  the  Holy  Spirit  so  evidently 
distinguished.  We  do  not  deny  that  the  name  of  angel  may  be 
suited  to  every  Pastor  in  a  certain  general  signification ;  but  here 
it  is  manifestly  written  to  one  in  every  Church.  Was  there  there- 
fore only  one  Pastor  in  every  city?  No,  indeed.  For  even  in 
Paul's  time  many  Presbyters  were  appointed  at  Ephesus  to  feed 
the  Church  of  God  (Acts  xx.  17,  18).  Why,  therefore,  are  let- 
ters sent  to  one  person  in  every  Church,  if  no  one  had  a  certain 
peculiar  and  eminent  function?" 

After  showing  that  some  of  the  ancient  Fathers,  and  among 
the  Reformers,  Bullinger,  Beza,  Rainoldus,  agree  with  him  in  the 
representation,  he  says,  "  Christ,  therefore,  writing  to  those  Bish- 
ops, thus  eminent  among  the  clergy,  undoubtedly  approved  of  this 
Episcopal  superiority."  —  GROTIUS. 

To  the  statements  and  argument  of  this  learned  Presbyterian, 
we  need  not  add  any  thing :  they  must  be  hard  indeed  to  con- 
vince, who  are  proof  against  the  facts  and  reasoning  of  Grotius. 

The  foregoing  extracts  are  quoted  from  a  small  but  exceedingly 
valuable  compilation  by  the  Bishop  of  New  Jersey,  entitled  "A 
Word  for  the  Church,"  to  which  the  reader  is  "benevolently" 
recommended.  To  obtain  it  will  cost  very  little,  and  its  perusal 
may  confer  lasting  and  inappreciable  benefit. 

APPENDIX  B. 

p.  272.  "  Despairing  of  justifying  their  ordinations  from  the 
Scriptures,  the  resort  of  dissenters  is  to  a  denial  of  the  Episcopal 
succession.  But  by  this  very  denial  they  show  how  important  it 
is.  Now,  that  there  has  been  a  body  of  men  in  the  world,  called 
Bishops,  ever  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  is  as  undeniable  as 
that  there  has  been  a  body  of  Christians.  One  may  as  well  deny 
the  continuance  of  the  human  race,  or  the  succession  of  the  gen- 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  287 

erations  of  men,  as  the  continuance  and  succession  of  Bishops.  * 
The  succession  of  Bishops  as  a  body  of  men,  then,  has  never  been 
broken.  But  it  is  alleged  that  the  succession  has  been  vitiated 
by  irregular  admissions,  thus  violating  the  law  upon  which  it 
depends.  But  what  if  the  allegation  were  true?  Suppose  there 
have  been  men  professing  and  acknowledged  to  be  members  of 
the  Christian  Church,  who  have  never  been  baptized :  is  not  he 
who  is  truly  baptized  now  a  member  of  the  Church?  Suppose 
that  men  have  occasionally  assumed  the  office  of  a  Presbyter,  and 
been  allowed  to  exercise  the  duties  and  functions  of  that  office 
without  any  ordination  at  all :  is  he  who  is  regularly  ordained  in 
this  age  any  the  less  a  Presb3*ter  on  that  account?  Does  the 
invalidity  of  his  orders,  or  the  fact  of  his  having  had  no  orders, 
annihilate  the  order  in  the  Ministry  to  which  he  pretended  to 
belong?  Most  certainly  not.  Neither  could  the  fact  (if  there 
were  such  an  one)  that  some  men  have  been  received  as  Bishops 
without  a  regular  ordination  to  the  Episcopate,  destroy  the  order 
of  Bishops,  or  make  him  who  is  regularly  ordained  in  this  age  any 
the  less  a  Bishop  than  if  no  such  irregularity  had  ever  occurred. 
But  suppose  they  could  prove  that  the  order  was  lost,  what  would 
they  gain?  Simply  a  freedom  from  the  restraint  of  God's  laws,  a 
liberty  to  follow  the  decrees  and  desires  of  their  own  hearts. 

"But  let  us  haste  to  notice  the  alleged  breaks  in  the  succession. 

"  1.  It  is  not  enough  to  state  the  fact  in  a  general  manner: 
you  must  trace  the  succession  in  every  individual  case.  You  are 
a  priest:  I  go  to  you  for  baptism,  for  instance.  I  must  closely 
examine  your  authority :  by  whom  were  you  ordained  ?  By  the 
Bishop  of  Vermont.  By  whom  was  the  Bishop  of  Vermont 
ordained?  (consecrated.)  And  by  whom  was  that  individual  or- 
dained? and  so  on.  Are  you  prepared  to  answer  these  questions? 
Have  you  the  documents  to  prove  your  legitimate  pastoral  descent 
from  Jesus  Christ?  Can  you  establish  your  ecclesiastical  pedi- 
gree beyond  all  controversy?  I  ask  nothing  unnecessary. 

"  1.  To  this  I  reply,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  trace  the  suc- 
cession in  every  individual  case  ;  because  every  Bishop  had  three 
to  ordain  him,  and  they  had  nine,  and  so  on.  Thus  the  individual 
succession  becomes,  in  two  or  three  generations,  merged  in  the 


288 


Appendix. 


general  succession ;  and  if  there  were  but  one  sound  and  valid 
Bishop  in  a  nation  or  a  Church  a  few  generations  back,  all  their 
Bishops  would  be  sound  and  valid  now.  For  instance,  it  appears 
from  an  actual  comparison  of  the  table  of  the  American  succes- 
sion, that,  if  only  one  of  the  Bishops  in  this  country  forty  years 
ago  had  been  valid,  all  would  be  so  now ;  for  they  can  all  trace 
their  succession  to  him. 

4 '2.  I  can  give  the  succession  in  the  individual  case,  taking 
only  one  in  the  line,  whereas  there  are  in  fact  never  less  than 
three.  Hopkins,  Griswold,  White  —  Moore  of  Canterbury  in  Eng- 
land ;  thence  by  the  line  of  Canterbury,  eighty-seven  names,  to 
Augustine,  A.D.  596.  From  Augustine,  through  Lyons,  to  Poly- 
carp  of  Smyrna,  thirty-one  names  ;  and  Polycarp  was  ordained  by 
St.  John,  and  St.  John  by  Jesus  Christ.  Again,  by  the  same  line, 
I  go  back  to  Theodore,  ninth  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  A.D.  688, 
eighty-Dine  names  from  Bishop  Hopkins ;  and  thence,  by  the 
Bishops  of  Rome,  seventy-six  names,  to  St.  Peter,  who  was 
ordained  by  Christ.  Again,  by  the  same  line,  I  go  back  to 
Chicely,  A.D.  1414,  twenty-nine  names  ;  and  thence  by  St.  Davids 
to  David,  A.D.  519,  sixty-six  names;  thence  by  Jerusalem  to 
St.  James  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  fifty-one  names. 

"Thus  Bishop  Hopkins,  from  whom  I  had  my  orders,  is  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty-first  from  St.  John,  giving  about  fourteen 
years  for  each  Bishop  ;  one  hundred  and  sixty-fifth  from  St.  Peter, 
about  ten  years  for  each  Bishop ;  one  hundred  and  forty-sixth 
from  St.  James,  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles  at  Jerusalem,  about 
twelve  years  for  each  Bishop. 

"I  have  omitted  the  names  in  each  line  of  succession  for 
brevity's  sake  ;  but  if  my  friends'  incredulity  will  not  be  overcome 
without,  I  will  furnish  every  one. 

44  REV.  W.  D.  WILSON. 
"BANNER  OF  THE  CROSS,  June  10, 1843." 

"  But  the  question  is  often  asked,  Can  the  succession  be  traced 
up  step  by  step  to  the  Apostles  ?  Is  there  no  breach  in  it  which 
would  invalidate  the  whole  ?  The  Master's  promise,  l  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,'  is  enough  to  assure  the 
humble  believer  that  no  such  breach  has  occurred,  or  can  occur  to 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  289 

the  end  of  the  world.  Besides,  the  utmost  pains  have  always  been 
taken,  in  every  branch  of  the  Church,  to  keep  the  succession  reg- 
ular and  pure.  Diocesan  succession  and  Apostolical  succession  are 
two  distinct  things.  As  in  Maryland,  for  example,  we  have  had 
four  Bishops,  but  no  one  of  them  has  been  concerned  in  the  conse- 
cration of  his  successor.  So  that  a  vacancy  or  an  interregnum  in  a 
particular  Diocese,  or  in  fifty  or  an  hundred  Dioceses,  even  of  long 
continuance,  does  not  affect  the  succession  in  the  least.  One  of 
the  Apostolical  Canons  enjoins  that  two  or  three  Bishops,  at  least, 
shall  unite  in  every  consecration.  The  succession  therefore  does 
not  depend  upon  a  line  of  single  Bishops  in  one  Diocese,  running 
back  to  the  Apostles,  because  every  Bishop  has  had  at  least  three 
to  ordain  him,  either  one  of  whom  had  power  to  perpetuate  the 
succession.  How  rapidly  do  the  securities  multiply  as  we  go  back  ! 
Bishop  Whittingham  had  three  to  ordain  him ;  his  ordainers  had 
nine ;  at  the  third  step  there  were  twenty-seven  ;  at  the  fourth, 
eighty-one  ;  at  the  fifth,  two  hundred  and  forty-three  ;  and  so  on, 
increasing  in  a  threefold  proportion.  Now,  if  any  one  of  the  entire 
number  to  whom  Bishop  Whittingham's  consecration  may  be  traced 
back  had  a  valid  ordination,  the  succession  is  in  him ;  and  he  can 
transmit  it  to  any  other  in  whose  consecration  he  may  assist. 

"  The  securities  therefore  are  incalculably  strong,  and  the  claim 
of  any  duly  consecrated  Bishop  to  the  Apostolic  succession  is  more 
certain  than  that  of  any  monarch  upon  earth  to  his  hereditary 
crown.  Lists  of  the  Apostolical  succession,  in  descent  from  the 
different  Apostles,  have  been  carefully  preserved  by  Eusebius  and 
other  early  writers  ;  and  they  have  been  continued  in  different  lines 
down  to  the  present  day.  An}T  reader  who  desires  to  consult  them 
is  referred  to  Perceval  on  4  Apostolical  Succession,'  and  Chapin's 
4  Primitive  Church.'  Rome  may  trace  its  line  to  St.  Peter;  the 
Greeks,  to  St.  Paul ;  the  Syrians  and  Nestorians,  to  St.  Thomas  ; 
and  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  to  ST.  JOHN. 

"  Bishop  White,  the  head  of  the  American  line  of  Bishops,  was 
consecrated  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  We  will  therefore 
present  a  list  beginning  with  St.  John,  and  coming  through  the 
Episcopate  of  Lyons  in  France  or  Gaul,  and  that  of  Canterbury  in 
England,  till  it  connects  with  ours  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


290 


ST.  JOHN. 

39.  Theodore, 

A.D.  688. 

40.  Brithwald, 

"      693. 

1.  Polycarp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna. 

41.  Tatwine, 

"      731. 

Bishops  of  Lyons. 

42.  Nothelm, 
43.  Cuthbert, 

"      735. 
"      742. 

1.  Pothinus. 

44.  Bregwin, 

"      759. 

2.  Irenaeus. 

45.  Lambert, 

"      763. 

3.  Zacharias. 

46.  ^Ethelred,  1, 

"      793. 

4.  Elias. 

47.  Wulfred, 

"      803. 

5.  Faustinus. 

48.  Theogild  or  Feogild, 

"      830. 

6.  Yerus. 

(Consecrated  June  5, 

7.  Julius. 

and  died  Sept.  3.) 

8.  Ptolemy. 

49.  Ceolnoth,  Sept.  11, 

"      830. 

9.  Vocius. 

50.  JEthelred,  2, 

"      871. 

10.  Maximus. 

51.  Phlegmund, 

"      891. 

11.  Tetradus. 

52.  Authelm  or  Adelm, 

"      923. 

12.  Yerissimus. 

53.  Wulfelm, 

"      928. 

13.  Justus. 

54.  Odo  Severus, 

"      941. 

14.  Albinus. 

55.  Dunstan, 

"      959. 

15.  Martin. 

56.  yEthelgar, 

"      988. 

16.  Antiochus. 

57.  Siricus, 

"      989. 

17.  Elpidus. 

58.  Aluricus  or  Alfricus, 

"      996. 

18.  Sicarius. 

59.  Elphege, 

"    1005. 

19.  Eucherius,  1. 

(  Living  or     J 

20.  Patiens. 

60.  •<  Leon  ing  or  >• 

"    1013. 

21.  Lupicuus. 

(Elkskan,      ) 

22.  Rusticus. 

61.  Agelnoth  or  ^Ethelst, 

"    1020. 

23.  Stephanus. 

62.  Edsin  or  Elsin, 

"    1038. 

24.  Yiventiolus. 

63.  Robert  Gemeticensis, 

"     1050. 

25.  Eucherius,  2. 

64.  Stigand, 

"     1052. 

26.  Lupus. 

65.  Lanfranc, 

"    1077. 

27.  Licontius. 

66.  Anselm, 

"    1093. 

28.  Sacerdos. 

67.  Rodulph, 

"    1114. 

29.  Nicetus. 

68.  William  Corboil, 

"     1122. 

30.  Priscus. 

69.  Theobold, 

"    1138. 

31.  ^therius,  A.D.  589. 

70.  Thomas  a  Becket, 

"     1162. 

71.  Richard, 

"     1174. 

CANTERBURY. 

72.  Baldwin  Fordensis, 

"    1184. 

32.       ] 

A.D.  596,  AUGUSTINE,  mis- 

73. Reginald  Fitz  Joceline,  "    1191. 

33. 

sionary  to  the  Anglo-Sax- 

74. Hubert  Walten, 

"    1193. 

from 

ons,  was  consecrated  by 

75.  Stephen  Langton, 

"    1207. 

St. 

Yirgilius,  24th  Bishop  of 

76.  Richard  Wethersfield 

,    "    1229. 

John. 

Aries,  assisted  by  ^Etheri- 

77.  Edmund, 

"    1234. 

us,  31st  Bishop  of  Lyons. 

78.  Boniface, 

"     1245. 

34.  Lawrence,                    A.D.  605. 

79.  Rob.  Kilwarby, 

"    1272. 

35.  Mellitus,                          "      619. 

80.  John  Peckham, 

"    1278. 

36.  Justus,                            "      624. 

81.  Rob.  Winchesly, 

"     1294. 

37.  Honorius,                        "      634. 

82.  Walter  Regnold, 

"     1313. 

38.  Adeodatus,                     "      654. 

83.  Simon  Mepham, 

"     1328. 

Addresses  and  Sermons. 


291 


84.  John  Startford,          A 

85.  Thomas  Bradwardine, 

86.  Simon  Islip, 

87.  Simon  Langham, 

88.  William  Whittlesey, 

89.  Simon  Sudbury, 

90.  William  Courtney, 

91.  Thomas  Arundle, 

92.  Henry  Chichely, 

93.  John  Stafford, 

94.  John  Kemp, 

95.  Thomas  Bourcher, 

96.  John  Morton, 

97.  Henry  Dean, 

98.  William  Wareham, 

99.  THOMAS  CRANMER, 

100.  Reginald  Pole, 

101.  Matthew  Parker, 

102.  Ed.  Grindall,  Dec. 

103.  John  Whitgift, 

104.  Richard  Bancroft, 

105.  George  Abbott, 


.D. 


1333. 
1348. 
1349. 
1366. 
1368. 
1374. 
1381. 
1396. 
1414. 
1443. 
1452. 
1454. 
1486. 
1501. 
1503. 
1533. 
1555. 
1559. 
1573. 
1583. 
1604. 
1611. 


106.  William  Laud,  A.D.  1633. 

107.  William  Juxon,  "    1660. 

108.  Gilbert  Sheldon,  "    1663. 

109.  William  Sancroft,          "    1677. 

110.  John  Tillotson,  "    1691. 

111.  Thomas  Tennison,        "    1694. 

112.  William  Wake,  "    1715. 

113.  John  Potter,  "    1737. 

114.  Thomas  Seeker,  "    1738. 

115.  Thomas  Herring,  "    1747. 

116.  Matthew  Button,          "    1757. 

117.  Frederick  Cornwallis,   "    1768. 

118.  John  Moore,  "    1783. 

119.  From    St.   John    is    WILLIAM 

WHITE  of  Pennsylvania,  con- 
secrated February  the  4th, 
1787,  by  John  Moore,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  assisted 
by  the  Archbishop  of  York, 
the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells, 
and  the  Bishop  of  Peterbor- 
ough. 


"  The  compilers  of  the  lists  from  which  the  above  was  taken 
have  consulted  the  best  authorities ;  and  no  more  doubt  of  its 
authenticity  can  be  entertained,  than  of  any  chronological  table  of 
historical  events,  or  list  of  the  sovereigns  of  any  country,  drawn 
from  its  official  registers  and  archives.  The  dates  attached  to 
the  names  of  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  indicate,  in  several 
instances,  not  the  time  of  their  consecration,  but  of  their  transla- 
lation  to  that  see. 

"  REV.  DR.  HENSHAW." 


APPENDIX  C. 

p.  69.  The  following  extracts  will  not  be  without  interest  to 
those  concerned  to  investigate  the  claims  of  Methodist  Episcopacy. 

"  To  all  [to]  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  John  Wesley, 
late  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College  in  Oxford,  Presbyter  of  the  Church 
of  England,  sendeth  greeting  :  Whereas  many  of  the  people  in  the 
southern  provinces  in  North  America,  who  desire  to  continue  under 
my  care,  and  still  adhere  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church 
of  England,  are  greatly  distressed  for  want  of  Ministers  to  admin- 


292 


Appendix. 


ister  the  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  according 
to  the  usage  of  the  same  Church;  and  whereas  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  any  other  way  of  supplying  them  with  Ministers :  — 

"Know  all  men,  that  I,  John  Wesley,  think  myself  to  be 
providentially  called  at  this  time  to  set  apart  some  persons  for 
the  work  of  the  Ministry  in  America.  And  therefore,  under  the 
protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  with  a  single  eye  to  His  glory,  I 
have  this  day  set  apart  as  a  superintendent,  by  the  imposition  of 
my  hands  and  pra3'er,  being  assisted  by  other  ordained  Ministers, 
Thomas  Coke,  Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  a  man  whom  I  judge  to  be  well  qualified  for  that 
great  work.  And  I  do  hereby  recommend  him  to  all  whom  it  may 
concern,  as  a  fit  person  to  preside  over  the  flock  of  Christ.  In 
testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this 
second  day  of  September,  1784. 

"JOHN  WESLEY." 

Mr.  Wesley  being  only  a  Presbyter,  and  Thomas  Coke  being 
also  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  we  may  surely  with 
reason  ask,  What  additional  power  or  authority  could  Wesley's 
imposition  of  hands  confer  on  Coke?  Might  not  Coke,  being  a 
Presbyter,  with  just  the  same  propriety  have  laid  hands  on  Wes- 
ley? If  Presbyter  and  Bishop  be  the  same  order,  as  is  contended, 
then  what  use  or  reason  was  there  for  ordaining  Coke  ?  If  Presby- 
ter and  Bishop  be  not  the  same,  then  Wesley,  being  no  Bishop, 
could  not  confer  the  Episcopal  office  on  Coke. 

Under  the  commission  of  Wesley  as  above,  Dr.  Coke  came  to 
America,  and  met  the  Methodist  Conference  at  Baltimore.  In  the 
space  of  forty-eight  hours  he  ordained  Mr.  Asbury,  Deacon,  Pres- 
b}Tter,  and  Bishop,  and  afterwards  united  with  him  in  an  address 
to  General  Washington,  Coke  and  Asbury  signing  the  address  as 
Bishops. 

In  what  light  Mr.  Wesley  regarded  this  assumption  of  the  title 
of  Bishop  by  his  superintendents,  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
extract  of  a  letter  addressed  by  him  to  Mr.  Asbury,  under  date  of 
Sept.  20,  1788:  — 

"  One   instance   of  this  your  greatness   has   given   me  great 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  293 

concern.  How  can  you,  how  dare  3*011,  suffer  yourself  to  be  called 
Bishop?  I  shudder  and  start  at  the  very  thought.  For  my  sake, 
for  God's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  put  a  full  end  to  this." 

Let  us  now  see  what  estimate  Dr.  Coke  himself  put  upon  his 
ordination  as  a  Bishop.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Bishop  White  of 
Pennsylvania,  dated  April  24,  1791,  nearly  two  months  after  the 
death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  —  an  event  of  which  he  had  not  then  heard, 
—  he  proposes  a  re-union  of  the  Methodists  with  the  Church,  and 
says,  "  I  do  not  think  that  the  generality  of  them  [the  Methodist 
Ministers],  perhaps  none  of  them,  would  refuse  to  submit  to  a 
re-ordination,  if  other  hindrances  were  removed  out  of  the  way." 
If  Dr.  Coke  thought  that  he  was  really  invested  with  power  to 
ordain  Ministers  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  had  so  ordained  them, 
how  could  he  for  a  moment  tolerate  the  idea  of  a  re-ordination? 
In  a  letter  addressed  to  Bishop  Seabury  of  Connecticut,  dated 
May  14,  1791, — only  three  weeks  after  that  to  Bishop  White, — 
he  is  more  full  and  explicit.  He  says,  "For  five  or  six  3'ears 
after  my  union  with  Mr.  Wesley,  I  remained  fixed  in  my  attach- 
ments to  the  Church  of  England ;  but  afterwards,  for  many  rea- 
sons which  it  would  be  tedious  and  useless  to  mention,  I  changed 
my  sentiments,  and  promoted  a  separation  from  it  as  far  as  my 
influence  reached.  Within  these  two  years  I  am  come  back  again : 
my  love  for  the  Church  of  England  has  returned.  I  think  I  am 
attached  to  it  on  a  ground  much  more  rational,  and  consequently 
much  less  likely  to  be  shaken,  than  formerly.  I  have  many  a 
time  run  into  error ;  but  to  be  ashamed  of  confessing  my  error 
when  convinced  of  it,  has  never  been  one  of  my  defects.  There- 
fore, when  I  was  fully  convinced  of  my  error  in  the  steps  I  took  to 
bring  about  a  separation  from  the  Church  of  England,  in  Europe, 
I  delivered  before  a  congregation  of  about  three  thousand  people, 
in  our  largest  chapel  in  Dublin,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  after  preach- 
ing, an  exhortation,  which,  in  fact,  amounted  to  a  recantation  of 
my  error.  Some  time  afterward,  I  repeated  the  same  in  our 
largest  chapels  in  London,  and  in  several  other  parts  of  England 
and  Ireland ;  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  my  proceedings 
in  this  respect  have  given  a  death-blow  to  all  the  hopes  of  a 
separation  which  may  exist  in  the  minds  of  any  in  those  kingdoms. 


294  Appendix. 

' '  On  the  same  principles  I  most  cordially  wish  for  a  re-union  of 
Protestant-Episcopal  and  the  Methodist  Churches  in  these  States. 
.  .  .  How  great,  then,  would  be  the  strength  of  our  Church  (will 
you  give  me  leave  to  call  it  so  ?  I  mean  the  Protestant  Episcopal) 
if  the  two  sticks  were  made  one  ?  .  .  .  Now,  on  a  re-union  taking 
place,  our  Ministers,  both  Elders  and  Deacons,  would  expect  to 
have,  and  ought  to  have,  the  same  authority  they  have  at  present, 
of  administering  the  ordinances  according  to  the  respective  powers 
already  invested  in  them  for  this  purpose.  /  well  know  that  they 
must  submit  to  a  re-ordination,  which  I  believe  might  be  easily 
brought  about  if  every  other  hindrance  were  removed  out  of  the 
way.  But  the  grand  objection  would  arise  from  the  want  of 
confidence  which  the  Deacons  and  unordained  preachers  would 
experience. " 

The  Doctor's  plan  for  removing  this  objection  is  seen  in  the 
following  :  * '  But  if  the  two  houses  of  the  Convention  [he  refers  to 
the  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant-Episcopal  Church]  of  the 
Clergy  would  consent  to  your  consecration  of  Mr.  Asbury  and  me 
as  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Society  in  the  Protestant- Episcopal 
Church  in  these  United  States  (or  by  any  other  title,  if  that  be  not 
proper),  on  the  supposition  of  the  re-union  of  the  two  Churches 
under  proper  mutual  stipulations ;  and  engage  that  the  Methodist 
Societ}7  shall  have  a  regular  supply  on  the  death  of  their  Bishops, 
and  so  ad  perpetuum,  the  grand  difficulty  in  respect  to  the  preach- 
ers would  be  removed ;  they  would  have  the  same  men  to  confide 
in  whom  they  have  at  present,  and  all  other  mutual  stipulations 
would  soon  be  settled."  — So.  Churchman,  June  9,  1843. 

We  offer  but  one  more  extract.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce,  he  says,  "If  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent 
and  the  Government  should  think  proper  to  appoint  me  their 
Bishop  in  India,  I  should  most  cheerfully  and  most  gratefully 
accept  of  the  offer.  ...  In  my  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  I  observed 
that  I  should,  in  case  of  my  appointment  to  the  Episcopacy  of 
India,  return  most  fully  and  faithfully  into  the  bosom  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  do  every  thing  in  my  power  to  promote  its  inter- 
ests, and  would  submit  to  all  such  restrictions  in  the  fulfilment  of 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  295 

my  office,  as  the  Government  and  the  Bench  of  Bishops  at  home 
should  think  necessary."  — Ed.  Rev.,  No.  cxlv.,  1840. 

The  preceding  requires  no  comment.  Conclusions  against  Dr. 
Coke's  Episcopal  authority  or  character  are  inevitable  and  irresist- 
ible. 

APPENDIX  D. 

p.  72.  The  subjoined  extracts  from  a  sermon  preached  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  May  4,  1789,  less  than  two  years  before  his  death, 
will  show  in  what  light  he  regarded  the  claim  of  his  preachers  to 
administer  sacraments.  The  text  is  Heb.  v.  4. 

"In  1744,  all  the  Methodist  preachers  had  their  first  confer- 
ence. But  none  of  them  dreamed  that  the  being  called  to  preach 
gave  them  any  right  to  administer  sacraments.  And  when  that 
question  was  proposed,  '  In  what  light  are  we  to  consider  our- 
selves? '  it  was  answered,  '  As  extraordinary  messengers,  raised  up 
to  provoke  the  ordinary  ones  to  jealousy.'  In  order  hereto,  one 
of  our  first  rules  was  given  to  each  preacher,  You  are  to  do  that 
part  of  the  work  which  we  appoint.  But  what  work  was  this? 
Did  we  ever  appoint  you  to  administer  sacraments  ?  to  exercise  the 
priestly  office?  Such  a  design  never  entered  into  our  mind;  it 
was  the  farthest  from  our  thoughts :  and,  if  any  preacher  had 
taken  such  a  step,  we  should  have  looked  upon  it  as  a  palpable 
breach  of  this  rule,  and  consequently  a  recantation  of  our  con- 
nection. 

"For  supposing  (what  I  utterly  deny)  that  the  receiving  you 
as  a  preacher  at  the  same  time  gave  an  authority  to  administer 
the  sacraments,  yet  it  gave  you  no  other  authority  than  to  do  it,  or 
any  thing  else,  where  I  appoint.  But  when  did  I  appoint  you  to 
do  this?  Nowhere  at  all.  Therefore  by  this  very  rule  3rou  are 
excluded  from  doing  it ;  and  in  doing  it,  you  renounce  the  very 
first  principle  of  Methodism,  which  was  wholly  and  solely  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  I  wish  all  of  you  who  are  vulgarly  termed  Methodists 
would  seriously  consider  what  has  been  said.  And  particularly 
you  whom  God  hath  commissioned  to  call  sinners  to  repentance. 
It  does  by  no  means  follow  from  hence,  that  ye  are  commissioned 
to  baptize,  or  administer  the  Lord's  Supper.  Ye  never  dreamed 


296 


Appendix. 


of  this,  for  ten  or  twenty  years  after  ye  began  to  preach.  Ye  did 
not  then,  like  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram,  '  seek  the  priesthood 
also.'  Ye  knew  'no  man  taketh  this  honor  unto  himself,  but  he 
that  is  called  of  God  as  was  Aaron.'  Oh,  contain  yourselves 
within  your  own  bounds  ;  be  content  with  preaching  the  Gospel ; 
*  do  the  work  of  Evangelists  ;  '  proclaim  to  all  the  world  the  loving- 
kindness  of  God  our  Saviour ;  declare  to  all,  '  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand  :  repent  ye,  and  believe  the  Gospel ! '  I  earn- 
estly advise  you,  abide  in  your  place  ;  keep  your  own  station.  Ye 
were,  fifty  years  ago,  those  of  }rou  that  were  then  Methodist  preach- 
ers, extraordinary  messengers  of  God,  not  going  in  your  own  will, 
but  thrust  out;  not  to  supersede,  but  to  provoke  to  jealousy  the 
ordinary  messengers.  In  God's  name,  stop  there !  " 

Alas !  this  voice  of  warning  and  remonstrance  was  uttered  in 
vain.  The  Methodists  have  long  since,  in  this  country  at  least, 
completed  their  schism  ;  and  though  professing  to  derive  ministerial 
authority  from  Wesley,  and  to  be  but  slightly  removed  from  the 
doctrine  and  government  of  the  Church,  yet  few  others  are  found 
to  manifest  a  more  determined  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  prevalence 
of  her  worship,  the  spread  of  her  principles,  and  the  increase  of  her 
members. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  297 


PREPARATION    OF    CANDIDATES    FOR    CONFIRMA- 
TION. 1 

Dearly  Beloved  and  Reverend  Brethren,  —  In  presenting  children 
and  others  for  the  Rite  of  Confirmation,  there  is  great  danger  on 
the  part  of  those  who  are  candidates  for  the  privileges  of  this  Rite, 
as  well  as  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  prepare  them  properly  for 
its  profitable  reception,  of  undervaluing  or  misapprehending  the 
amount  of  Christian  knowledge  and  experience  which  the  Church 
expects  and  requires  as  previously  necessary  to  its  administration. 
There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  lukewarmness,  not  to  say 
careless  lives,  of  many  who  have  renewed  their  baptismal  vows  in 
44  the  laying-on  of  hands/'  is  attributable  to  this  lack  of  due 
preparation.  Young  people  are  found  abstaining  from  the  Lord's 
Supper  immediately  after  their  Confirmation,  as  if  wholly  uncon- 
scious of  any  inconsistency  between  their  profession  and  practice  ; 
and  older  persons  are  observed  to  be  living  in  such  habits  of  world- 
liness,  as  might  lead  one  to  suppose  that  a  renunciation  of  "the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil/'  had  never  entered  into  the  number 
of  their  professed  obligations.  No  wonder  that  this  Rite,  under 
such  circumstances,  should  be  regarded  by  many  serious-minded 
people  as  of  so  little  value  that  they  should  speak  of  its  admin- 
istration as  bordering  on  a  solemn  mockery,  and  treat  its  claims 
to  consideration  as  of  so  little  worth.  The  fault  lies  chiefly  in 
parental  neglect  and  ministerial  unfaithfulness. 

Parents  and  sponsors  should  remember  that  God  holds  them 
responsible  for  the  religious  well-being  of  the  children  committed 
to  their  care,  to  the  fullest  extent  of  their  guardianship  and  influ- 
ence over  them.  If  bound  by  natural  affection  to  provide  for  their 
temporal  welfare,  much  more,  on  the  same  principle  and  on  the 

1  Third  Charge  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Tennessee,  delivered  in 
St.  Luke's  Church,  Jackson,  Friday,  the  22d  of  May,  1857. 


298 


Appendix. 


ground  of  acknowledged  duty,  are  they  under  obligations  to  teach 
them  their  duty  to  God  as  the  subjects  of  His  moral  government. 

At  Baptism,  a  strict  charge  is  given  by  the  Minister  to  those 
who  have  the  care  of  the  child,  that  they  teach  him  "  what  a  solemn 
vow,  promise,  and  profession  he  has  there  made  by  them;  "  that  it 
is  their  "part  and  duty  to  see  that  he  learn  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments,"  and  then,  it  is  added,  in 
order  that  the  whole  round  of  Christian  duty  may  be  embraced, 
"  all  other  things  which  a  Christian  ought  to  know  and  believe  to 
his  soul's  health."  Can  any  thing  be  more  complete?  All  knowl- 
edge and  faith  necessary  for  the  soul's  health.  Can  any  directions 
be  more  explicit?  He  shall  be  taught  "  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Praj'er,  and  the  Ten  Commandments,"  — faith  to  enlighten,  grace 
to  strengthen,  and  obedience  the  fruit.  Can  any  reminding  of 
one's  duty  be  more  solemn?  —  a  personal  act  bringing  weighty 
obligations  on  a  soul  whose  eternal  happiness  or  misery  will  depend 
on  the  fidelit}r  with  which  those  obligations  are  met  and  discharged. 
Accordingly  we  find  that  the  Church  has  manifested  her  sense  of 
the  importance  of  all  this,  by  providing  a  Catechism  for  the  use  of 
all  her  baptized  children,  so  comprehensive  as  to  embrace  all  need- 
ful points  of  faith  and  practice,  so  simple  as  to  be  level  to  the 
plainest  understanding,  and  so  concise  as  to  be  within  the  reach  of 
the  humblest  capacity. 

The  duty  of  a  parent  or  sponsor  is  not,  I  conceive,  fully  and 
adequately  discharged  by  teaching  a  child  the  Catechism  by  rote 
merely.  That  may  do  for  a  beginning,  when  children  are  making 
their  first  attainments  in  learning.  It  is  by  no  means  all  that  is 
requisite  as  a  preparation  for  Confirmation.  The  child  must  be 
taught  by  precept  and  example  practically  to  recognize,  daily  and 
evermore,  those  great  central  truths  embodied  in  the  Creed,  with- 
out which  there  can  be  no  justifying  faith,  no  true  repentance, 
and  no  godly  life.  How  plain  and  explicit  the  instructions  of  the 
Catechism  on  this  subject!  In  answer  to  the  question,  "What 
dost  thou  chiefly  learn  in  these  Articles  of  thy  Belief  ? "  it  is 
replied,  — 

"  FIRST,  /  learn  to  believe  in  God  the  Father,  who  hath  made 
me,  and  all  the  world. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  299 

u  SECONDLY,  In  God  the  Son,  who  hath  redeemed  me,  and  all 
mankind. 

"  THIRDLY,  In  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  sanctifieth  me,  and 
all  the  people  of  God." 

The  child  who  is  duly  prepared  for  Confirmation  must  see,  in 
the  conduct  of  those  who  have  the  care  of  his  religious  training, 
these  truths  exemplified.  Little  will  it  avail  to  enrich  his  mind 
with  the  store  of  human  knowledge,  unless  his  heart  be  softened 
by  the  dews  of  Divine  Grace.  And  here  is  just  the  part  of  duty 
in  which  there  is  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  parents  and  sponsors 
frequently  and  grossly  fail.  They  may  pray  for  their  children, 
but  they  do  not  pra}T  toith  them.  Their  particular  wants  are  not 
made  the  subjects  of  special  prayer.  They  are  not  taken  aside 
into  the  private  oratory  or  closet,  and  their  peculiar  needs  inquired 
into,  and  the  voice  of  earnest  supplication  lifted  up  for  them,  in 
the  affecting  language  of  the  aged  patriarch,  "  Oh  that  these  my 
children  might  live  before  Thee!"  Alas!  this  moving,  heartfelt 
concern,  if  it  exist  at  all,  seldom  finds  expression  in  strong  crying 
and  entreaty  for  the  spiritual  life  of  the  children  of  the  Church  ; 
but  in  efforts  to  make  them  rich  in  temporal  goods,  or  distin- 
guished in  worldly  accomplishments.  Herein  there  is  pains-taking 
enough.  The  sea  and  the  dry  land  are  made  tributary  to  the  effort 
to  make  our  children  rich.  The  aid  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead 
is  invoked  to  make  them  learned  and  accomplished  in  their  pro- 
fessions. Oh  !  when  will  any  thing  like  the  same  anxiety  and  care 
be  manifested  to  make  them  Christians?  And  yet  it  would  seem, 
that,  if  any  solicitude  should  weigh  heavily  and  constantly  upon 
the  parental  heart,  it  ought  to  be  that  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
our  offspring.  By  the  love  which  God  has  implanted  in  our 
bosoms,  He  has  spoken  more  emphatically  to  us  than  if  He  had 
proclaimed  it  by  a  voice  uttered  amidst  the  thunders  of  Sinai. 
We  know  not  what  may  be  the  lot  of  our  children  in  their  pilgrim- 
age through  this  world.  We  know  that  they  are  sprung  from  a 
corrupt  stock,  and  that  they  like  ourselves  will  be  sinners.  There 
is  a  root  of  evil  in  their  natures,  which,  if  it  be  not  eradicated  by 
Divine  Grace,  or  checked  in  its  growth  by  timely  watchfulness, 
will  put  off  shoot  after  shoot  of  wickedness,  till  the  whole  soil 


300 


Appendix. 


of  the  heart  is  occupied,  and  the  moral  nature  wholly  corrupted. 
For  sin  is  never  stationary.  Its  progress  is  always  onward.  It 
is  like  those  trees  of  which  we  read  in  Eastern  climes,  whose  far- 
reaching  branches  put  down  shoots  which  rise  again  in  stately 
trunks,  and  these  again  multiply  their  stems,  till  whole  acres  are 
covered,  while  under  the  gloomy  shade  of  their  rank  foliage,  ex- 
cluding the  light  and  heat  of  the  sun,  creep  venomous  reptiles  and 
all  loathsome  things.  Such  is  sin  in  its  occupanc}T  of  the  human 
soul,  ever  striving  to  possess  the  whole  ground,  to  exclude  the 
light  of  truth  and  the  influence  of  Heavenly  Grace,  and  introduce 
its  own  loathsome  brood  of  "  vile  affections  and  lusts." 

Our  children,  too,  have  come  into  a  world  eminently  calculated, 
bjr  its  pernicious  maxims  and  wicked  examples,  to  nourish  their 
natural  inclinations  to  depravity,  and  to  swell  the  stream  of  cor- 
ruption till  it  rise  to  a  flood,  and  pour  desolation  over  their  whole 
moral  and  spiritual  nature.  The  eye  of  the  profligate,  like  the 
vulture,  may  easily  mark  them  out  for  destruction.  Men  of  malig- 
nant passions  and  desperate  character  may  seek  companionship 
with  them,  and  patronize  every  step  they  take  in  iniquity,  until 
a  career  of  crime  is  terminated  in  a  death  of  infamy,  and  a  grave 
upon  which  there  drops  no  tear  of  human  commiseration. 

Our  children  will  be  sufferers.  It  is  conceded  to  none  of  the 
offspring  of  Adam,  to  enter  the  skies  without  pain.  Nor  should 
we  exclude  from  our  minds  the  thought  that  they  may  be  subjected 
to  suffering  in  its  extreme  forms,  and  under  circumstances  the 
most  forlorn  and  helpless.  On  the  ocean,  amidst  the  raging  of  its 
billows  lashed  into  fury  by  the  tempest,  their  last  cries  for  mercy 
may  mingle  with  the  howlings  of  the  waves.  On  the  land,  in 
sickly  and  inhospitable  climes,  where  the  red-e}Ted  pestilence 
marks  his  footsteps  by  desolation,  where  no  father  nor  mother  is 
near  to  support  their  drooping  heads,  or  wipe  the  cold  death-drops 
from  their  pallid  brows,  it  may  be  their  lot  to  drain  the  cup  of 
their  sorrows,  and  close  the  wearisome  journey  of  life.  In  cold 
and  nakedness,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  poverty  and  neglect,  on 
the  sun-scorched  desert  or  in  regions  of  thick-ribbed  ice,  in  haunts 
of  low  and  infamous  brutality,  or  in  the  dank  and  cheerless  dun- 
geon, on  the  gallows,  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  on  the  battle- 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  301 

field,  or  by  any  one  of  those  ten  thousand  accidents  which  cut 
short  human  existence,  who  of  us  shall  presume  to  say  that  his 
children  may  not  meet  with  that  "  sudden  death  "  from  which  we 
pray  to  be  delivered,  and  which  we  know  may  at  any  moment 
arrest  us  anywhere  on  the  broad  face  of  that  world  in  which  we 
are  but  sojourners  ?  What  parent  can  sit  down  by  his  fireside  at 
home,  in  the  midst  of  his  children,  little  groups  of  sufferers,  and 
not  instinctively  ask  himself  the  question,  "  Is  there  no  eye  to  pity 
these  little  ones  when  my  eye  is  dim?  Is  there  no  ear  to  hear 
their  groans  when  my  ear  is  deaf?  Is  there  no  hand  that  will  be 
stretched  out  to  defend  and  protect  when  my  hand  shall  be  mould- 
ering in  the  grave  ?  Is  there  no  invisible  source  of  comfort  and 
of  succor  to  whom  I  may  commit  these  beloved  objects  when  I 
have  left  these  earthy  scenes,  and  passed  to  those  changeless 
abodes  where  a  father's  care  and  love  can  avail  them  no  more?  " 
Pressed  by  these  painful  considerations,  —  considerations  insepar- 
able from  the  condition  of  mortal^ ,  —  we  suppose  a  parent  will 
feel  constrained  to  do  all  in  his  power,  not  only  to  shield  his 
offspring  from  dangers  that  threaten  them  in  this  world,  but  that 
he  will  invoke  for  them  that  grace  and  blessing,  that  love  and 
care  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  which  will  be  their  best  protection 
here,  and  the  surest  guarantee  of  their  safety  hereafter. 

For  I  remark  once  more,  that  our  children  will  go  to  Eternitj7 ! 
Yes,  Eternity,  with  all  its  dread  realities,  with  all  its  changeless 
solemnities,  must  be  met  by  them,  and  is  among  the  allotments  of 
their  future  condition.  Do  we  think  of  this  often  enough?  Do 
we  think  of  it  with  sufficient  earnestness, — with  a  seriousness 
answerable  to  the  overwhelming  consequences  which  follow  upon 
its  truth  ?  Is  the  line  of  being  upon  which  our  children  are  travel- 
ling, to  run  on,  when  this  great  globe  shall  be  broken  up  into  frag- 
ments, when  the  heavens  themselves  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise,  and  no  place  more  be  found  for  them  ;  when  the  earth  and 
the  sea  shall  give  up  their  dead  ;  when  all  the  hosts  of  heaven, 
and  all  the  legions  of  hell,  and  the  long  line  of  Adam's  race,  shall 
stand  up  before  God,  a  countless  army?  Then,  with  what  intense 
and  overpowering  interest  ought  we  to  regard  their  destiny  !  How 
ought  every  faculty  of  soul  and  spirit  to  be  exerted,  that  they  may 


302 


Appendix. 


be  prepared  for  this  awful  scene  !  How  ought  ever}7  purpose,  pur- 
suit, and  occupation  in  life  to  be  formed,  controlled,  and  directed 
to  the  one  paramount  object  of  being  accepted  in  the  day  of  doom, 
and  being  enabled  then  to  lift  up  our  voices  with  joy,  and  say, 
"  Behold,  Lord,  Thy  servant  and  the  children  whom  Thou  gavest 
me!" 

These  considerations  one  might  reasonably  suppose  would  ever- 
more be  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  every  Christian  parent.  They 
are  equally  proper  to  occup}7  the  thoughts  of  the  Christian  Min- 
ister. But  the  Church  hath  thought  good  to  add  the  authority  of 
a  special  law  to  the  obligations  which  have  been  adverted  to, 
making  it  the  duty  of  each  Pastor  carefully  to  instruct  the  children 
of  his  Parish.  The  law  is  in  these  words  :  viz.,  "  The  Minister  of 
every  Parish  shall  diligently,  upon  Sundays  and  Holydays  or  some 
other  convenient  occasions,  openly  in  the  Church,  instruct  or 
examine  so  many  children  of  his  Parish,  sent  unto  him,  as  he 
shall  think  convenient,  in  some  part  of  this  Catechism." 

Here  we  find  that  the  Church  has  ordered  how  this  duty  shall  be 
performed,  —  diligently.  The  word  marks  her  sense  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  duty.  It  is  something  that  she  would  not  only  enjoin 
as  necessary  to  be  done,  but  to  be  done  diligently;  that  is,  with 
the  zeal  and  constancy  which  love  inspires.  And  that  no  excuse 
may  be  alleged  for  its  neglect  or  omission,  on  account  of  the  want 
of  time,  she  prescribes  that  it  shall  be  done  "on  Sundays  and 
Holydays," — the  very  seasons  appropriated  to  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  concerns,  the  care  of  the  soul.  And,  that  no  press  of 
duty  or  engagement  in  the  affairs  of  the  Parish  may  justify  any 
omission  herein,  it  is  added,  "or  on  some  other  convenient  occa- 
sions." Next  she  commands  where  it  shall  be  done,  —  "openly 
in  the  Church,"  that  all  who  choose  may  hear  and  learn  "  the 
words  of  eternal  life."  And  then  she  directs  the  Minister  as  to 
what  he  shall  instruct  or  examine  the  children,  —  that  is,  "in 
some  part  of  the  Catechism."  It  is  recorded  of  Luther,  Melanch- 
thon,  Cranmer,  and  many  other  great  men  distinguished  for  their 
services  and  sufferings  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  that  towards  the 
close  of  their  lives  they  gave  up  the  reading  and  study  of  all 
books,  and  betook  themselves  to  the  Bible  and  their  Catechisms. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  303 

They  had  become  as  little  children,  and  as  little  children  they 
wished  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

That  the  Minister  may  be  encouraged  and  strengthened  in  the 
performance  of  so  great  and  necessary  a  work,  the  law  of  the 
Church  proceeds :  — 

44  And  all  fathers,  mothers,  masters,  and  mistresses  shall  cause 
their  children,  servants,  and  apprentices,  who  have  not  learned 
their  Catechism,  to  come  to  the  Church  at  the  time  appointed,  and 
obediently  to  hear  and  be  ordered  by  the  Minister,  until  such  time 
as  they  have  learned  all  that  is  here  appointed  for  them  to  learn." 

The  rule  is  very  comprehensive,  embracing  every  class  in  so- 
ciety who  may  be  presumed  to  have  the  control  of  others,  — 
"fathers,  mothers,  masters,  and  mistresses;"  extending  to  all 
conditions  in  life  which  may  be  reasonably  supposed,  from  their 
dependence,  to  need  instruction,  —  ''children,  servants,  and  ap- 
prentices." It  is  enjoined  upon  the  former,  to  cause  the  latter  to 
come  to  the  Church  to  be  instructed.  How  is  this  injunction  of 
the  Church  ordinarily  heeded  by  those  who  profess  to  reverence 
her  authority?  It  is,  I  awfully  fear,  practically  and  habitually 
disregarded  by  the  large  majority  of  those  who  dwell  in  this  nomi- 
nally Christian  land.  There  are  thousands  around  us,  "  children, 
servants,  and  apprentices,"  wholly  dependent  for  religious  train- 
ing upon  those  who  "  exercise  rule  and  authority  over  them," 
that,  in  the  great  Day  of  Eternity,  may  lift  up  the  voice  of  bitter 
reproach  mingled  with  lamentation,  and  say,  "  No  man  cared  for 
our  souls !  "  If  there  be  reason  to  mourn  over  the  prevalence  of 
irreligion  in  the  land,  and  the  decay  of  piety  and  godliness  among 
professed  Christians,  I  am  bold  to  say  that  the  efficient  causes  are 
to  be  traced  to  this  neglect  of  duty  on  the  part  of  the  laity,  rather 
than  any  unfaithfulness  among  the  Clergy.  In  this  part  of  their 
office,  Ministers  are  powerless  without  the  co-operation  of  the 
people.  But  where  parents  and  sponsors  do  discharge  this  part 
of  their  duty,  the  Minister  can  be  at  no  loss  as  to  the  amount  of 
instruction  to  be  given  to  those  sent  to  him.  He  is  to  continue 
his  labors  till  they  have  learned  the  whole  of  the  Catechism,  and 
then  they  are  to  be  brought  to  Confirmation.  For  thus  proceeds 
the  rubric,  or  law  of  the  Church :  — 


304 


Appendix. 


"  So  soon  as  children  are  come  to  a  competent  age,  and  can 
say  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments, 
and  can  answer  to  the  other  questions  of  this  short  Catechism, 
they  shall  be  brought  to  the  Bishop." 

*'  And  whensoever  the  Bishop  shall  give  knowledge  for  children 
to  be  brought  unto  him  for  their  Confirmation,  the  Minister  of 
every  Parish  shall  either  bring,  or  send  in  writing,  with  his  hand 
subscribed  thereunto,  the  names  of  all  such  persons  within  his 
Parish,  as  he  shall  think  fit  to  be  presented  to  the  Bishop  to  be 
confirmed." 

The  whole  of  these  directions  look  to  attainments  in  Christian 
knowledge  and  character,  which  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  are  very 
injuriously  if  not  fatally  overlooked  by  many  whose  duty  it  is  to 
prepare  and  present  persons  for  Confirmation.  The  Church  in  all 
her  Offices  contemplates  the  highest  proficiency  in  the  Divine  life 
as  the  object  aimed  at  by  their  administration,  and  a  full  under- 
standing of  their  nature,  and  due  preparation,  on  the  part  of 
those  capable  of  the  same,  in  order  to  their  profitable  reception. 
Thus :  — 

"  Baptism  is  a  death  unto  sin,  and  a  new  birth  unto  righteous- 
ness,"—  pre-requisites  to  which  are,  "repentance  whereby  we 
forsake  sin,  and  faith  whereby  we  steadfastly  believe  the  promises 
of  God  made  to  us  in  that  sacrament." 

The  first  rubric  in  the  Office  of  Adult  Baptism  reads  :  — 

"  When  any  such  persons  as  are  of  riper  3rears  are  to  be  bap- 
tized, timely  notice  shall  be  given  to  the  Minister ;  that  so  due  care 
may  be  taken  for  their  examination,  whether  they  be  sufficiently 
instructed  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and  that  they 
may  be  exhorted  to  prepare  themselves,  with  prayers  and  fasting, 
for  the  receiving  this  Holy  Sacrament." 

Here  we  find  that  u  timely  notice  must  be  given,"  due  care 
taken  for  examination  of  the  candidate  in  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  preparation  made  by  prayers  and  fasting 
for  so  solemn  an  act.  And  then,  upon  the  administration  of  the 
ordinance  itself,  the  witnesses  are  exhorted  to  remind  the  persons 
baptized,  "  what  a  solemn  vow,  promise,  and  profession  they  have 
made  ;  "  how  "  they  must  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  305 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  live  godly,  righteously,  and  soberly,  in 
this  present  world:"  while  the  baptized  are  charged  to  remem- 
ber, "that  Baptism  representeth  unto  us  our  profession;  which  is 
to  follow  the  example  of  our  Saviour  Christ,  and  to  be  made  like 
unto  Him ;  that  as  He  died,  and  rose  again  for  us,  so  should  we 
who  are  baptized,  die  from  sin,  and  rise  again  unto  righteous- 
ness," etc. 

More,  and  surely  not  less  than  all  this,  may  be  reasonably 
expected  in  the  way  of  religious  attainments,  from  those  who, 
having  learned  what  their  godfathers  and  godmothers  promised  for 
them  in  Baptism,  come  forward  "  in  their  own  names  and  persons 
openly  before  the  Church  to  ratify  and  confirm  the  same."  More 
may  be  expected  of  them,  because  from  infancy,  if  sponsors  and 
Ministers  have  been  faithful,  they  have  enjoyed  the  inestimable 
privileges  and  benefits  of  religious  training  ;  they  have  almost  from 
the  beginning  of  life  been  in  covenant  with  God  ;  the  promises  of 
God  were  visibly  sealed  to  them  in  Holy  Baptism,  whereby  they 
were  "  made  members  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  and  inheritors 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;"  they  have  been  taught  their  duty, 
and  been  the  subjects  of  fervent  and  effectual  prayer,  —  none  of 
which  priceless  advantages  have  been  enjoyed,  or  at  least  in  a 
very  slight  degree,  by  the  unbaptized.  But  because  it  is  said  in 
the  rubric,  "  So  soon  as  children  are  come  to  a  competent  age, 
and  can  say  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, and  can  answer  to  the  other  questions  of  the  short  Cat- 
echism, they  shall  be  brought  to  the  Bishop,"  to  be  confirmed 
by  him,  therefore  many  young  persons  think,  —  and  alas!  some 
Ministers  think  with  them,  —  that,  if  they  can  but  repeat  the  whole 
of  the  Catechism  by  memory,  they  are  fit  and  qualified  subjects  for 
Confirmation,  and  that  this  is  all  the  preparation  which  the  Church 
demands  of  them  in  order  to  the  reception  of  that  Rite  which 
admits  them  to  the  highest  privileges  of  a  Christian. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  this  mistake  comes  about, 
and  may  easily  proceed  to  a  fatal  delusion.  The  language  is  quite 
common  among  us,  that  the  Word,  sacraments,  rites,  and  institu- 
tions of  the  Church  are  all  means  of  grace,  and  to  be  beneficial 
must  be  used  ;  and  hence  the  urgency  with  which  they  are  recom- 


306  Appendix. 

mended  and  pressed  upon  the  attention  and  use  of  all  men  who 
attend  our  places  of  worship.  It  is  said  that  the  use  of  these 
means  of  grace  is  in  our  hands,  the  gracious  effect  of  them 
dependent  on  God's  blessing ;  that  it  is  our  duty  to  use  them,  and 
to  look  to  God  for  their  efficacy  and  sanctifying  influence.  This 
is  often  so  broadly  stated,  that  no  reference  whatever  is  made  to 
the  qualifications  of  those  who  resort  to  them ;  and  therefore 
many  come  to  Baptism,  Confirmation,  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
without  at  all  realizing  that  they  are  in  the  exercise  of  that  repent- 
ance and  faith  which  are  the  conditions  of  all  promised  blessings ; 
and  so  they  continue  in  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Supper  without  any 
comfortable  evidence  to  themselves  that  they  are  growing  in  grace, 
or  making  any  sensible  progress  in  the  Divine  life.  The  idea  is, 
that  the  use  of  the  ordinances  of  the  Church,  irrespective  of  qual- 
ifications on  the  part  of  the  receiver,  will  secure  grace,  and  be 
attended  with  blessings.  I  can  conceive  of  few  things  more  ruin- 
ous to  every  reasonable  hope  of  spiritual  improvement.  It  is  a 
delusion  of  the  Devil,  and  receives  no  countenance  whatever  from 
any  thing  taught  in  our  Offices  and  Articles  when  fairly  under- 
stood. 

In  the  Twenty-fifth  Article  of  Religion  it  is  said,  "  Sacraments 
ordained  of  Christ  be  not  only  badges  or  tokens  of  Christian  men's 
profession,  but  rather  they  be  certain  sure  witnesses,  and  effectual 
signs  of  grace,  and  God's  good  will  towards  us,  b}T  the  which  he 
doth  work  invisibly  in  us,  and  doth  not  only  quicken,  but  also 
strengthen  and  confirm  our  faith  in  him." 

It  would  seem  that  some  persons  from  this  language  are  led  to 
attribute  to  the  use  of  the  sacraments  a  virtue  and  efficacy  which 
surely  the  Church  never  intended  to  teach  as  belonging  to  them. 
They  were  not  intended  to  inform  us  of  the  character  and  perfec- 
tions of  God,  the  nature  of  sin,  of  the  incarnation,  the  atonement, 
faith,  repentance,  and  holiness.  These  things  are  to  be  learned 
from  the  Word  of  God,  that  enlightener  and  informer  of  the  human 
understanding,  that  "lantern  to  our  feet  and  light  unto  our  paths," 
that  "  undefiled  law  which  converts  the  soul,  that  sure  testimony 
of  the  Lord  that  giveth  wisdom  unto  the  simple."  In  short,  there 
must  be  a  proper  degree  of  acquaintance  with  our  own  spiritual 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  307 

nature,  a  knowledge  of  our  wants  as  sinners,  and  of  the  plan  of 
salvation  through  Christ,  the  exercise  of  repentance  and  faith,  and 
a  fixed  purpose,  by  the  Divine  assistance,  to  lead  a  godly  life, 
before  we  are  duly  prepared  for  Confirmation  and  the  Lord's 
Supper.  This  is  the  lowest  amount  or  degree  of  preparation  with 
which  an}7  one  ought  to  venture  to  approach  these  ordinances  ;  and 
this  we  understand  to  constitute  that  worthiness  of  meetness  which 
fits  us  to  receive,  and  not  that  worthiness  of  qualifications  which 
may  entitle  us  to  demand,  this  great  and  inestimable  privilege  of 
coming  into  the  family  of  God,  and  of  being  "  received  as  worthy 
partakers  at  His  Holy  Table."  Those  who  rely  so  much  upon  the 
efficacy  of  the  Sacraments  as  to  countenance  the  idea  that  their 
administration  is  alwa}Ts  and  necessarily  attended  with  benefits 
and  blessings,  might  do  well  to  consider  the  last  clause  of  our 
Twenty-fifth  Article  in  these  words  :  "  And  in  such  only  as  worthily 
receive  the  same,  they  have  a  wholesome  effect  or  operation ;  but 
they  that  receive  them  unworthily,  purchase  to  themselves  damna- 
tion, as  saith  St.  Paul." 

I  am  very  far  from  wishing  to  discourage  any,  with  right  views 
of  religion,  from  coming  to  the  Rite  of  Confirmation.  Indeed, 
the  reluctance  and  timidity  with  which  many  are  brought  to  the 
recognition  and  renewal  of  their  baptismal  vows,  doubtless  consti- 
tute the  true  reasons  why  Ministers  are  sometimes  found  too  urgent 
in  their  persuasions  upon  this  subject.  I  entreat  you,  brethren,  to 
consider,  that,  where  persons  are  confirmed  with  low  and  inade- 
quate views  of  their  religious  obligations,  they  are  seldom  happy 
themselves,  generally  occasion  deep  concern  and  disquietude  to  the 
Ministry,  and  sometimes  bring  discredit  upon  their  Christian  pro- 
fession. This  is  presenting  the  ill  consequences  of  such  a  course 
in  the  least  unfavorable  aspect  in  which  it  can  be  viewed.  I  am 
firmly  persuaded  that  in  the  desire  to  present  a  considerable 
number  for  this  Rite,  the  Clergy  sometimes  overlook  the  careful 
preparation  which  is  fairly  demanded  for  it.  There  is  a  strong 
temptation  to  do  this.  A  Minister  is  desirous  of  having  all  the 
members  of  his  flock  come  to  the  discharge  of  their  dut}T.  His 
representations  of  the  danger  of  procrastination  and  neglect  are 
frequent  and  earnest.  Many  are  moved  to  inquire  "  what  they 


308  Appendix. 

must  do  to  be  saved;"  and  among  these  the  Pastor  not  unfre- 
quently  finds  it  a  task  as  ungracious  as  it  is  difficult  to  discriminate 
between  those  who  are  actuated  by  sound  and  enlightened  views 
of  the  character  and  extent  of  Christian  obligations,  and  others, 
who,  without  due  examination  and  without  counting  the  cost  of 
what  they  are  about  to  undertake,  are  influenced  in  their  conduct 
by  the  lower  considerations  of  a  desire  to  please  their  friends  and 
gratify  their  Minister. 

It  is  exceedingly  rare,  therefore,  that  any  one  seeking  is  refused 
the  Rite  of  Confirmation.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  it  had  been  better 
for  some,  and  for  the  Church,  if  they  had  been  refused.  Disguise 
it  as  we  may,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  Minister  that  they  were  not.  It 
is  impossible  that  the  directions  of  the  Church  in  this  case  can  be 
mistaken.  It  is  the  bounden  duty  of  each  Parish  Minister  to  know 
who  is  prepared  or  fit  for  Confirmation.  Not  only  is  all  that 
which  candidates  for  the  la}*ing-on  of  hands  are  required  to  know, 
declared  in  plain  and  explicit  terms,  as  I  have  already  stated  ;  but 
it  is,  moreover,  made  the  duty  of  the  Minister  either  to  "  bring  or 
send  in  writing,  with  his  name  subscribed  thereunto,  the  names  of 
all  such  persons  within  his  Parish,  as  he  shall  think  fit  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Bishop  to  be  confirmed."  Why  all  this  particularity, 
if  it  be  not  to  impress  upon  the  mind  the  importance  of  more  than 
ordinary  care  in  this  case?  A  list  is  to  be  made  out,  —  a  list  to 
be  made  by  the  Minister ;  a  list  with  his  name  subscribed.  The 
Bishop  is  to  take  no  other  evidence  of  fitness.  All  indicates  the 
greatest  precaution  on  the  part  of  the  Church.  Every  thing  shows 
that  she  expects  her  Ministers  to  be  diligent  and  faithful.  And 
those  words  of  solemn  admonition  and  warning,  given  at  the  time 
of  their  Ordination,  should,  methinks,  be  ringing  in  their  ears  on 
every  occasion  of  Confirmation  with  startling  distinctness:  "And 
if  any  member  of  the  Church  do  take  any  hurt  or  hindrance  by 
reason  of  your  negligence,  ye  know  the  greatness  of  the  fault,  and 
also  the  horrible  punishment  that  will  ensue." 

We  may  add  that  the  Office  of  Confirmation  itself  contemplates 
the  same  amount  of  preparation  as  having  been  made,  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking,  previous  to  its  administration.  None  are 
allowed  to  be  confirmed  "till  they  come  to  years  of  discretion." 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  309 

What  is  meant  by  this  expression,  we  may  learn  from  that  great 
and  good  Bishop  of  our  own  Church,  the  distinguished  Dr.  Hobart 
of  New  York.  "  By  this  order,"  he  says,  "  the  Church  evidently 
designs  more  than  that  they  should  be  able  merely  to  say  the  words 
of  the  Catechism.  They  must  have  a  full  knowledge  of  its  mean- 
ing. And  it  embraces  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  plan  of  re- 
demption, of  Christian  doctrine  and  duty,  and  of  the  privileges  of 
Christians ;  these  must  be  understood  and  realized  before  children 
can  be  qualified  for  receiving  that  holy  Rite  in  which  they  pledge 
themselves  to  the  belief  of  Christian  doctrine,  and  to  the  practice 
of  Christian  duty,  and  in  which  their  Christian  privileges  are 
assured  to  them.  The  age  at  which  this  knowledge  can  be  at- 
tained, doubtless  differs  in  different  persons.  And  the  particular 
age  of  admission  to  this  Rite  is  not  authoritatively  determined.  It 
seems  necessary,  however,  to  have  some  standard  of  age  which 
children  must  attain  before  they  can  receive  this  Rite.  And  the 
age  of  fourteen  is  generally  recommended  by  the  Bishops  of  the 
Church." 

The  demand  is  made  of  each  one,  whether  he  acknowledges 
himself  bound  to  believe  and  to  do  all  things  undertaken  in  Bap- 
tism ;  that  is,  not  only  the  profession  of  a  right  faith,  but  the 
obligation  to  live  a  holy  life.  Than  this,  no  more  comprehensive 
and  searching  confession  of  Christ  can  be  or  need  be  required  of 
any  one.  And  then  follows  the  prayer  for  the  increase  of  the 
manifold  gifts  of  grace ;  and  immediately  afterwards,  the  invoca- 
tion of  defence  and  increase  daily  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  What  can 
such  language  signify,  if  it  be  not  a  strengthening,  an  increase,  an 
adding  to  the  work  of  Divine  Grace  already  begun  in  the  soul,  and 
thus  carried  forward  under  the  gracious  influences  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  until  he  who  is  the  happy  subject  of  such  a  work  arrives  at 
the  stature  of  a  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus  ! 

I  conceive  it,  therefore,  to  be  the  bounden  duty  of  Ministers, 
in  presenting  persons  for  the  Rite  of  Confirmation,  to  satisfy  them- 
selves in  every  case  that  there  exists  something  more  than  a  will- 
ingness or  a  desire  to  be  confirmed.  There  must  not  only  be  the 
required  amount  of  intellectual  preparation  in  having  learned  the 
Catechism,  but  likewise  a  reduction  of  that  learning  to  practice. 


310  Appendix. 

The  candidates  should  be  students  of  the  Word  of  God,  when  they 
can  read  and  have  leisure  for  it ;  they  should  be  devotional  in 
their  daily  habits ;  they  should  live  constantly  in  the  discharge  of 
such  duties  of  charity,  and  such  acts  of  pietjr,  as  will  convince 
themselves,  as  well  as  others,  that  they  are  in  good  earnest  for 
the  salvation  of  their  souls,  that  they  feel  the  need  of  Divine  Grace 
to  strengthen  their  weak  resolutions  and  feeble  efforts,  and  that 
they  are  seeking  the  ordinances  of  the  Church  to  help  them  to 
lead  godly  and  Christian  lives.  Such  is  the  amount  of  preparation 
which  is  indispensable,  in  my  judgment,  for  the  worthy  and  profit- 
able reception  of  the  Rite  of  Confirmation.  And  I  feel  confident, 
that,  if  Ministers  generally  would  so  teach  those  committed  to  their 
charge,  there  would  be  far  less  depreciation  of  the  value  and 
efficacy  of  the  ordinance  itself,  and  far  less  reason  to  complain  of 
the  careless  and.  ungodly  lives  of  many  who  have  sought  its 
privileges. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  311 


CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION.1 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein."  —  ST.  MARK  x.  15. 

IF  the  only  acceptable  or  admissible  way  in  which  an  adult  per- 
son can  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  be  as  a  little  child  receives 
it,  the  inference,  we  think,  is  unavoidable,  that  little  children  are 
proper  subjects  of  that  kingdom.  Upon  this  declaration  of  our 
Lord  and  Redeemer,  in  connection  with  the  context,  an  unanswer- 
able argument  might  be  constructed  in  favor  of  the  lawfulness 
of  infant-baptism.  But  we  propose  to  follow  a  different  line  of 
remark  on  this  occasion,  and  to  use  these  words  of  our  Saviour  as 
suggestive  of  a  topic,  than  which  few  others  can  more  fitly  claim 
the  serious  consideration  of  a  Christian  assembly,  or  the  anxious 
reflections  of  American  citizens,  or  the  deep  and  pious  thoughts 
of  the  Right  Reverend  Fathers,  Ministers,  and  brethren  composing 
this  council  of  the  Church.  It  is  Christian  education,  or  the  train- 
ing of  the  young  in  the  way  of  holiness,  which  forms  our  theme  for 
remark. 

This  is  not  a  subject  which  may  or  ought  to  awaken  interest 
only  in  the  bosoms  of  Christian  parents.  Its  range  is  wide  enough 
to  embrace  all  the  families  of  the  land ;  and  its  relations  extend 
to  many  other  interests  than  those  merely  of  domestic  life.  It  is 
the  boast  of  our  countrymen,  that  their  social  well-being  is  not 
dependent  for  its  source  or  for  its  continuance  on  the  circum- 
stances which  may  surround  an  individual.  The  term  of  a  sov- 
ereign's life,  or  the  state  of  his  health,  or  the  moral  disposition 
of  the  heir-apparent,  never  enters  into  our  anxieties  or  specula- 
tions respecting  the  happiness  of  ourselves,  our  families,  or  our 

1  Sermon  before  the  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  Richmond, 
Va.,  Wednesday,  Oct.  5,  1859. 


312  Appendix. 

country.  But  we  should  remember,  for  it  concerns  us  all  to 
know,  that  though  the  succession  of  power  among  us-  be  silent, 
gradual,  and  unobserved,  the  human  exponent,  so  to  speak,  is  yet 
transient  in  its  duration  and  susceptible  of  change.  Many  of  us 
will  probably  live  to  see  the  sceptre  of  our  civil  condition  trans- 
ferred, and  the  destinies  of  this  nation,  social  and  religious,  intel- 
lectual and  moral,  public  and  individual,  pass  into  the  hands  of 
the  little  beings  whose  minds  are  now  occupied  with  the  toys 
of  childhood.  The  next  race  of  the  sovereign  people  may  be  as 
degenerate  as  the  successor  of  an  absolute  monarch.  Nay,  the 
voice  of  history  proclaims  the  grave  and  impressive  lesson,  that 
the  glories  of  republics  have  been  evanescent,  —  that  their  ener- 
gies have  become  effete  and  languid  in  the  transmission  through 
fewer  generations  than  those  of  some  hereditary  dynasties.  They 
seem  to  resemble  those  vegetable  productions  which  bloom  more 
magnificently,  and  bear  a  richer  fruitage,  but  arrive  at  earlier 
decay  and  decrepitude.  How  shall  we,  on  whom  the  care  of  ours 
is  now  incumbent,  maintain  the  vital  principle  with  undiminished 
healthfulness  and  vigor,  that  it  may  flourish  for  us,  and  for  those 
who  follow  after  us? 

There  is  but  one  method,  and  that  method  is  obvious :  it  is 
easy,  and  it  is  secure,  if  faithfully  pursued.  Here,  within  our 
reach,  under  our  almost  unlimited  control,  and  in  a  ductile  state, 
is  the  very  material  on  whose  shape  the  stability  of  our  institu- 
tions must  depend.  The  alternative  is. before  us,  either  to  leave 
that  material  to  be  moulded  by  external  circumstances  highly 
unfavorable,  or  to  give  it  form  by  that  plastic  touch  of  education, 
whose  moral  impress  the  droppings  of  time  can  never  efface,  nor 
any  stroke  of  accident  destroy.  "The  child  is  father  to  the  man." 
The  foundation  of  character  and  destin}T,  of  every  individual  ele- 
ment of  that  rational  multitude  whose  mind  will  sway  the  world 
of  thirty  years  hence,  will  be  laid  permanently  and  indestructibly 
before  it  has  attained  the  twelfth  year  of  its  being.  Subsequent 
influences  may  strengthen  or  impair  that  foundation,  but  they 
never  can  displace  it.  For  the  characters  of  men  do  not  result 
from  their  own  investigations ;  the  patterns  are  not  selected  and 
approved  by  a  mature  judgment :  they  are  formed  by  the  com- 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  313 

bined  development  of  those  associations  and  S3rmpathies  of  child- 
hood, from  whose  abiding  influence  no  reasonings  or  efforts  of 
mature  years  will  ever  entirely  emancipate  them.  You  must  com- 
municate, or  you  must  withhold  from  that  wave  of  human  society 
which  follows  after  you,  and  will  soon  rise  in  your  place,  those 
principles  whose  infusion  will  make  it  pure,  and  whose  absence 
will  cause  it  to  spread  bitterness,  corruption,  and  desolation 
wherever  it  rolls. 

What  are  those  principles,  and  how  are  they  to  be  communi- 
cated? We  have  said  that  the  rising  generation  must  be  educated; 
but  we  do  not  use  the  word  in  its  popular  acceptation.  We  never 
employ  it  in  the  degraded  sense,  now  so  current,  which  excludes 
the  discipline  of  the  heart :  and  we  now  use  it  without  reference  to 
merely  intellectual  culture ;  our  present  concern  being  with  that 
sort  of  education  which  improves  and  exalts  the  character,  not 
that  which  fills  the  memory  and  enlarges  the  understanding.  I 
know  that  it  is  a  cherished  idea  in  this  country,  that  sound  morals 
and  extended  knowledge  are  inseparable  as  cause  and  effect ;  and 
that  the  consciences  of  men  are  enlightened  to  discern  evil,  and 
armed  to  resist  it,  by  merely  storing  their  minds  with  learning. 
Virtue  and  intelligence  are  the  strong  pillars  on  which  rest  the 
social  edifice  of  our  country ;  and,  to  make  society  virtuous,  we 
must  make  men  intelligent.  This  is  the  favorite  maxim  reiterated 
by  the  lips  of  every  social  reformer  of  the  age,  by  ever}7  aspirant 
to  popular  favor  and  political  distinction.  With  much  of  truth  in 
the  aphorism,  there  are  mingled  with  it  elements  which  in  their 
practical  development  are  exceedingly  dangerous,  and  make  it, 
in  fact,  the  most  perilous  sophism  of  our  age  and  country.  We 
meet  with  it  everywhere  ;  we  hear  it  almost  daily  in  conversation  ; 
it  abounds  in  all  the  secular  and  in  most  of  the  religious  jour- 
nals which  circulate  through  the  land ;  it  is  assumed  in  popular 
addresses,  lurks  in  legislative  enactments,  and  is  sanctioned  by 
the  erection  of  seminaries  of  learning  which  seem  intended  for 
beings  purely  intellectual,  callous  to  all  passions,  and  destitute  of 
all  propensities,  —  institutions  where  every  mental  faculty  is  tilled 
with  minute  and  systematic  industry,  while  the  whole  moral  nature 
is  left  a  wilderness  in  which  the  most  noxious  weeds  may  spring 


314  Appendix. 

up  and  multiply.  Knowledge,  knowledge  alone,  is  proclaimed  to 
be  the  unfailing  protector  of  all  rights,  the  kind  and  nursing 
parent  of  all  virtues,  the  certain  cure  for  every  malady  that  can 
infest  human  society. 

Now,  we  hold  this  to  be  a  sophism,  false  in  theory  and  fatal  in 
experiment,  whose  increasing  prevalence  is  just  cause  of  alarm  to 
reflecting  minds,  and  which  it  is  the  duty  of  all  who  stand  respon- 
sible for  the  interests  of  their  fellow-beings,  both  temporal  and 
eternal,  to  resist  loudly  and  strenuously.  As  an  instrument  to 
promote  ph}*sical  and  mental  enjoyment,  knowledge  has  genuine 
worth,  amply  sufficient  to  attract  the  pursuit  of  men,  and  afford 
matter  for  rational  approval,  without  making  pretensions  which  are 
absurd  and  dangerous.  That  intelligence  is  a  lever,  which,  pro- 
perly applied,  may  sustain  and  elevate  the  public  morals,  is  an 
obvious  verity ;  but  it  has  no  moral  character  and  no  moral  pref- 
erence of  its  own.  It  may  be  abused,  and  may  be  employed  in 
the  work  of  demolition  as  well  as  of  construction.  Its  results 
derive  their  moral  tendency  from  the  moral  agency  by  which  the 
instrument  is  wielded ;  that  is,  the  moral  effects  of  intelligence 
depend  upon  the  very  circumstances  of  which  this  sophism  affirms 
them  to  be  decisive.  It  is  servant  to  that  of  which  it  is  said  to  be 
master.  It  is  the  clay,  instead  of  the  potter,  in  the  formation  of 
the  social  character.  Show  me,  by  reasoning  or  by  experiment, 
the  sequence  which  is  claimed  to  exist  between  intellectual  wealth 
and  moral  purity.  Take  a  child,  and  teach  him  the  truths  of 
mathematical  science.  Will  you  thus  make  him  abhor  fraud  and 
falsehood?  Teach  him  natural  philosophy,  and  will  you  thereby 
extinguish  selfishness  and  malice,  or  infuse  purity  of  thought  and 
modesty  of  demeanor?  Teach  him  the  abstractions  of  moral 
science,  and  will  you  thereby  impart  the  will  and  the  power  to  per- 
form moral  duties?  Surely  not.  But  now  try  a  different  process. 
Let  him  be  removed  from  the  contact  of  every  irreligious  impulse 
and  association.  Let  him  be  environed  as  much  as  possible  by 
"  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  just,  true,  honest,  lovely,  and  of 
good  report."  Carry  him  to  the  Word  of  God  for  a  standard  of 
morals,  perfect,  unalterable,  and  eternal,  founded  not  on  the  spec- 
ulations of  man,  but  on  the  dictum  of  Omniscience ;  send  him  to 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  315 

the  throne  of  grace,  and  thither  let  parent  and  teacher  repair  with 
him  by  their  example,  and  for  him  by  their  prayers.  And  what 
results  may  you  then  rationally  anticipate  ?  In  the  human  char- 
acter, instead  of  the  antagonist  principles  of  intelligence  and  vice 
mingling  harmoniously  to  make  the  compound  more  offensive,  you 
infuse  the  religious  principle,  and  every  thing  gross  is  neutralized 
and  precipitated ;  every  thing  noxious  is  expelled,  and  the  charac- 
ter acquires  a  permanent  purity  and  transparency.  Now,  what  is 
true  of  the  individual  element  must  be  true  of  the  uniform  mass. 
For  a  people  without  intelligence,  the  range  of  physical  and  intel- 
lectual enjoyment  must  be  circumscribed ;  but  the  purity  of 
morals,  the  authority  of  the  laws,  that  fireside  happiness  which, 
after  all,  is  the  most  precious  of  social  treasures,  need  not  be 
impaired  or  jeopardized.  Nay,  those  tracts  of  man's  history  on 
which  both  reason  and  imagination  dwell  with  the  most  unalloyed 
complacency  are  not  those  most  resplendent  with  the  illumination 
of  letters,  and  polished  by  the  arts  of  civilized  life.  It  is  in  com- 
munities where  ignorance  and  poverty  have  been  ennobled  by  a 
pure  and  beautiful  simplicity  of  manners,  that  we  must  look  for 
the  most  illustrious  examples  of  patriotism,  and  the  most  lovely 
portraitures  of  domestic  peace.  But  what  would  be  the  condition 
of  a  community  destitute  of  religion?  This  is  a  picture  which 
requires  to  be  exhibited  in  a  strong  light,  and  seriously  pondered,  — 
a  society  in  which  religion  is  supplanted  in  its  peculiar  functions 
by  a  power  utterly  incompetent  for  their  performance !  Let  not 
your  imaginations  wander  far  away  to  savage  tribes,  in  search  of 
an  actual  example  of  the  conditions  of  the  hypothesis.  The  most 
blinded  and  depraved,  whose  abode  is  marked  on  the  map  of  any 
continent,  or  whose  character  is  portrayed  in  the  annals  of  any 
age,  are  not  without  religion.  God  hath  not  left  them  entirely 
without  witness ;  and  we  hesitate  not  to  affirm,  that  in  the  most 
horrible  and  distorted  creed,  considered  as  a  system,  that  ever 
deluded  mankind,  there  are  yet  fountains  of  truth,  and  plants  of 
nourishment,  and  fences  of  beneficial  restraint  over  the  corrupt 
propensities  of  man,  which  render  it  far  better  adapted  to  his 
moral  nature  than  the  sickly  and  sterile  wastes  of  a  libertine 
atheism. 


316  Appendix. 

We  must  suppose  a  case,  —  and,  in  order  to  conceive  the  effects 
of  a  perfect  religious  darkness  in  their  most  shocking  and  fear- 
ful manifestations,  we  must  come  nearer  home  than  the  haunts  of 
savage  life, — we  must  suppose  a  case  where  the  energies  of  mind 
are  the  most  powerful,  and  the  lights  of  civilization  are  the  most 
brilliant,  and  the  inmost  penetralia  of  the  shrine  of  knowledge  are 
freely  and  generalty  approached.  In  such  a  country,  suppose  that 
the  hearts  of  the  people  should  suddenly  become  callous  to  the 
power  and  their  eyes  blinded  to  the  light  of  religion ;  that  every 
religious  institution  should  be  overthrown ;  that  every  religious 
restraint  should  be  cast  loose ;  that  every  religious  impression 
which  hearts  the  most  abandoned  and  dissolute  now  receive  from 
the  contact  of  sacred  things,  were  effaced  entirely ;  that  the  mild 
radiance  which  Christianity  now  diffuses  over  the  whole  surface  of 
society  should  be  curtained  from  the  world,  so  that  Christian 
example  should  have  no  weight,  Christian  sentiments  exercise  no 
purifying  and  elevating  control,  Christian  education  be  robbed  of 
the  restraining  influences  which  no  lapse  of  time  and  no  degree  of 
wickedness  can  now  avail  to  sunder ;  so  that  all  these  refined  and 
intelligent  people  should  rely  for  their  moral  guidance  entirely  on 
intellectual  light,  and  for  moral  support  entirely  on  intellectual 
strength ;  checked  by  no  fears  but  worldly  fears ;  moved  by  no 
inducements  but  sublunary  inducements ;  bound  by  no  laws  but 
human  laws  ;  having  no  desires  or  thoughts  but  such  as  are  of  the 
earth  earthy, — what  picture  would  such  a  community  present  to  our 
contemplation !  Like  the  artist  who  started  back  horror-stricken 
from  the  picture  which  his  own  pencil  had  painted,  we  should 
shrink  from  the  contemplation  of  scenes  which  no  language  could 
depict,  no  tongue  describe.  We  should  behold  the  torches  of 
intelligence  elevated  not  to  enlighten,  but  brandished  to  consume  ; 
the  ardor  of  enterprise  rushing  not  to  the  tasks  of  industry,  but  of 
plunder ;  the  vigor  of  thought  strained  not  to  construct,  but  to 
ruin ;  the  attractions  of  art  displayed  not  to  refine,  but  to  pollute 
and  deprave  ;  political  freedom  enjoyed  not  for  security,  but  abused 
to  the  destruction  of  both  civil  and  personal  rights  ;  every  human 
emotion  centred  in  self,  every  barrier  of  law  overleaped,  every 
moral  restraint  relaxed  or  severed,  every  noble  sentiment  extinct, 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  317 

every  vicious  propensity  rioting  in  the  openness  of  day ;  nothing 
criminal  but  weakness,  nothing  wretched  but  innocence  ;  every  tie 
that  binds  man  to  man  sundered,  every  principle  of  justice  disre- 
garded, every  cry  for  mercy  stifled,  every  temple  of  piety  violated, 
every  defence  of  purity  torn  down  and  trampled  under  foot,  and 
every  sanctuary  of  the  affections  invaded  and  desecrated.  Such 
we  ma}"  conceive  to  be  the  faintly  shadowed  but  shocking  scene  of 
moral  desolation,  of  brutal  degradation,  which  any  civilized  people 
would  exhibit  if  its  religion  were  abolished,  and  its  intelligence 
were  retained  and  raised  to  the  highest  point  of  attainment.  The 
greater  their  intelligence,  the  more  hopeless  and  abandoned  would 
be  their  wretchedness  ;  for  every  blessing  of  civilization  would  be 
transformed  into  a  curse.  Every  instrument  that  now  improves 
and  adorns  society  would  become  a  weapon  to  pierce  its  vitals. 
The  truth  of  the  matter,  as  obvious  to  reason  under  the  guiding 
light  of  revelation,  and  as  demonstrated  by  history,  is  precisely 
the  reverse  of  the  popular  idea.  Knowledge  has  never  preceded 
virtue,  and  it  has  never  survived  it ;  and  whenever  the  pure  prin- 
ciple of  virtue  has  ceased  to  be  mingled  with  the  oil  of  intelli- 
gence, the  lamp  has  expired  in  the  corrupt  atmosphere  which  its 
own  foul  effluvium  had  created.  Knowledge  will  vanish  away,  but 
virtue  or  charity  never  faileth. 

I  have  dwelt  the  longer  on  this  matter,  because  the  error  I  have 
attempted  to  expose  is  a  prevalent  and  dangerous  one ;  of  whose 
results,  unless  very  soon  checked,  this  nation  will  in  a  few  j^ears 
be  made  lamentably,  mournfully,  and  wofully  sensible.1  It  is 
advocated  sometimes  explicitly,  and  often  impliedly,  by  men  who 
are  set  as  watchmen  for  the  defence  of  society  from  the  incursions 
of  moral  and  religious  evil ;  and  yet  it  virtually  admits  the  claims 
of  infidelit}r.  It  is  precisely  the  principle  which  was  preached 
by  sceptics  of  the  last  century,  and  was  in  truth  the  fruitful 
parent  of  that  direful  progeny  of  evils  which  the  world  witnessed 

1  Public  sentiment  not  only  originates  the  law,  but  actually  controls  its 
operation.  Hence  the  prevalence  of  a  healthy  moral  sentiment  is  indispen- 
sable to  the  due  execution  of  the  laws.  Let  the  moral  tone  of  society 
become  universally  or  generally  depraved,  and  all  vitality  is  gone  from  the 
laws,  and  there  is  no  power  in  this  nation  to  execute  them. 


318  Appendix. 

in  the  excesses  and  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution.  Let 
the  claims  of  secular  knowledge  be  advanced  on  their  proper 
grounds.  There  is  room  enough  for  zeal,  and  motive  enough  for 
exertion,  in  that  cause,  without  elevating  intelligence  to  the  post, 
which  religion  alone  is  adequate  to  maintain  ;  without  supplanting 
the  wisdom  of  Christ,  who  teaches  us  that  we  must  become  as  little 
children  in  order  to  enter  His  kingdom  ;  for  that  knowledge  of  the 
world  which  puffs  up,  and  nourishes  pride  instead  of  humility ; 
without  substituting  the  light  of  reason  for  the  dictates  of  con- 
science ;  without  commending  the  diffusion  of  intelligence  as 
something  more  important  to  the  interests  of  society  and  individ- 
ual happiness  than  the  cultivation  of  charity  and  the  fear  of 
God.  That  healthy  moral  sentiment,  which,  as  a  perennial  foun- 
tain, sends  forth  fertilizing  streams  through  all  the  fields  of  human 
action,  and  imparts  vigor  to  every  enterprise  of  benevolence, 
springs  from  a  "  faith  in  God,  which  works  by  love,  purifies  the 
heart,  and  overcomes  the  world."  The  genial  warmth  which 
spreads  its  vivif}Ting  and  fructifjdng  influences  over  the  whole 
scene  of  Christian  efforts,  extending  now 

"From  Greenland's  icy  mountains  to  India's  coral  strand, 
From  Afric's  sunny  fountains  to  China's  teeming  land," 

is  an  emanation  from  the  "  bright  Sun  of  righteousness,"  and  not 
from  the  glimmering  taper  of  this  world's  wisdom.  In  a  word, 
the  Bible  is  the  text-book  of  the  science  of  the  heart;  and  the 
lessons  of  wisdom  which  it  imparts  are  of  more  value,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  affirm,  than  all  the  secular  knowledge  gained  by 
the  people  of  this  powerful  confederacy  of  States,  in  the  many 
thousands  of  seminaries  throughout  the  land,  and  from  which  its 
teachings  are  excluded  six  days  in  every  week. 

But,  vast  as  are  the  moral  and  social  benefits  of  early  religious 
culture,  they  constitute  not  the  chief  motives  to  encouragement  in 
the  work  of  training  the  young.  Children  have  souls  to  be  saved, 
as  well  as  duties  to  perform  to  society.  To  those  whose  thoughts 
are  exercised  seriously  about  the  things  of  another  life,  the  chief 
and  engrossing  subject  of  anxiety  is,  not  how  children  may  be 
made  respectable  and  prosperous  during  their  abode  on  earth,  but 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  319 

how  they  may  become  fellow- citizens  of  the  saints,  and  fitted  for 
the  society  of  heaven.  And  however  their  right  of  baptism  may 
be  questioned,  the  ground  is  fearlessly  assumed,  that,  if  all  the 
conditions  of  the  covenant  are  faithfully  met  and  discharged  by 
those  who  have  the  care  of  them,  we  may  as  certainly  and  as  con- 
fidently look  for  a  blessing  on  efforts  for  their  spiritual  improve- 
ment, as  for  the  full  development  of  their  faculties  and  powers  in 
other  things.  To  the  labor  of  Christian  education  in  this  highest 
view,  we  have  the  most  animating  encouragement.  The  convic- 
tion of  success,  it  is  true,  is  an  exercise  of  our  faith,  and  not  a 
part  of  our  knowledge ;  the  responsibility  for  their  own  souls  will 
ultimately  devolve  on  the  children  themselves,  and  God  only  knows 
how  they  will  sustain  it.  Our  present  efforts  and  prayers  will  not 
be  alone  effectual ;  but  that  intercessory  prayer  and  Christian  edu- 
cation are  means  through  which  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  very 
freely  bestowed,  and  that  the  faithful  use  of  these  means  affords 
the  strongest  encouragement  for  expecting  it,  is  what  no  Christian 
can  reasonably  doubt.  We  must  not  forget,  indeed,  that  the  whole 
work  of  religion  is  not  performed  by  the  inculcation  of  truth  and 
the  culture  of  moral  sensibility.  We  know  and  lament  that  there 
are  too  many  to  be  found,  whose  minds  have  been  enlightened  by  the 
truth,  softened  by  the  spirit,  and  embellished  by  the  ornaments  of 
Christianity,  and  who  yet  have  never  received  the  Gospel  as  the 
principle  of  a  new  and  holy  life  ;  and  it  will  be  found  further,  that 
this  perilous  and  unhappy  state  is  owing  simply  to  an  obstinate 
refusal  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  the  resistance  they  make  to  the 
Author  of  all  grace.  Still,  while  we  perform  our  duty  in  conveying 
religious  instruction  to  the  mind  of  the  child,  we  know  that  his 
heart  will  be  much  better  prepared  hereafter  to  receive  and  profit 
by  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Truths  instilled  in  childhood  live  forever  in  the  memory.  They 
are  interwoven  with  all  the  sensibilities  of  the  soul.  They  are 
the  fortress  of  the  conscience,  not  impregnable,  but  indestructible. 
They  furnish  the  mind  with  chords  which  never  cease  to  vibrate 
to  the  touch  of  faithful  expostulation.  They  are  an  inextinguish- 
able spark,  which,  after  being  seemingly  smothered  under  a  mass 
of  corruption,  are  often  revived,  by  providential  circumstances,  to 


320  Appendix. 

a  pure  flame  of  piety.  We  cannot  pluck  up  the  roots  of  evil,  but 
we  may  prune  and  repress  its  developments.  We  may  soften  the 
soil  in  which  heavenly  seed  must  germinate,  and  make  it  pervious 
to  the  dews  of  Divine  grace.  The  work  is  noble,  the  hopes  are 
strong  and  scriptural,  the  duty  is  imperative,  and  the  machinery 
to  be  employed  is  all  of  heavenly  temper  and  Divine  appointment. 
From  the  days  of  the  Apostles  downward,  the  Church's  care  of 
little  children  has  been  assumed  as  an  eminent  duty.  Timothy, 
from  a  child,  was  instructed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  We  read  of 
certain  persons  called  helpers,  —  as  Priscilla,  Aquila,  and  Urbane, 
—  who  are  reasonably  presumed  to  have  held  the  office  of  catecliist, 
which  was  universal  in  the  early  ages  of  the  Church ;  and  ever 
since  the  Reformation  it  has  been  the  prescribed  duty  of  the 
Ministers  of  the  Church,  "  diligently  on  Sundays  to  instruct  and 
examine  the  children  ' '  of  the  Parish  in  the  Catechism  prepared  for 
that  special  purpose,  and  which  contains  in  itself  perhaps  the  most 
complete  summary  of  Christian  doctrines  and  duties  ever  brought 
together  in  the  same  compass.  Bring  before  your  minds  the 
immense  multitude  of  Ministers  and  Catechists  and  teachers  em- 
ployed in  this  work,  wherever  the  seas  thunder  round  the  world,  or 
winds  sweep  over  the  habitations  of  men,  —  the  countless  numbers 
of  children  collected  weekly  together  to  be  taught.  Think  of  the 
prayers,  the  admonitions,  the  lessons,  in  which  this  unnumbered 
mass  of  living  and  immortal  beings  are  every  Sunday  engaged. 
Reflect  on  the  pious  impressions  which  these  holy  occupations 
must  make  on  instructors  and  children,  —  their  accumulating 
knowledge  of  Divine  things ;  their  diligent  investigation  and  ex- 
planation of  religious  truth  ;  this  emplo}rment  of  holy  time,  in  holy 
things,  when  that  time  might  be  misemployed  in  the  things  of  the 
world ;  the  rebounding  influence  of  pious  children  upon  their 
parents  and  others ;  the  amount  of  moral  and  religious  sentiment 
thus  communicated ;  the  silent  but  sure  operation  of  that  senti- 
ment imperceptibly  finding  its  way  to  millions  of  hearts,  and 
insensibly  moulding  the  temper  and  controlling  the  conduct  of 
those  millions  of  accountable  and  rational  living  beings,  and  these 
in  their  turn  influencing  other  millions  to  come  after,  —  and  can 
you  conceive,  by  any  effort  of  mind,  a  moral  spectacle  of  more 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  321 

imposing  grandeur  and  soul-stirring  sublimity  ?  Are  we  not  justi- 
fied in  offering  the  prayer,  and  in  indulging  the  hope,  that  the 
incense  thus  rising  to  the  throne  of  God  may,  by  His  blessing, 
burst  forth  over  the  guilt}7  millions  of  our  world,  without  limit  and 
without  restraint,  in  heavenly  benediction,  its  sanctifying  influ- 
ences be  felt  in  human  institutions,  mingle  itself  with  all  social 
elements,  regulate  all  the  pulsations  of  feeling,  consecrate  all  polit- 
ical movements,  exalt  all  the  productions  of  science  and  learning, 
purify  every  intellectual  and  moral  enterprise,  and  communicate 
heaven's  peace  and  gladness  to  every  nation,  every  family,  and 
every  heart?  Can  we  employ  a  more  powerful  consideration  to 
move  the  Church,  its  Ministry,  and  its  members,  to  undertake  and 
vigorously  prosecute  this  glorious  work  commanded  by  Christ, 
blessed  of  God,  and  indispensable  to  man? 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  }TOU,  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  king- 
dom of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein." 

To  a  Christian  mind,  the  world  is  one  great  seminary,  in  which 
immortal  souls  are  to  be  trained  for  higher  and  nobler  scenes.  The 
eyes  of  the  infant  are  opened  to  the  external  world  in  a  true 
primary  school,  —  a  school  devised  and  established  by  Infinite 
Wisdom.  It  is  the  family  institution.  Children  have  souls  and 
bodies,  and  there  they  both  may  be  cared  for.  They  are  connected 
with  two  worlds,  and  there  they  may  be  trained  for  both.  Two 
persons  are  appointed  by  Divine  Providence  to  perform  this  task  of 
training.  Two  are  united  to  the  little  and  dependent  being  by  in- 
dissoluble ties,  —  two  teachers,  whose  love  no  restiveness  of  the 
child  can  alienate,  whose  assiduity  no  weariness  can  overcome,  to 
whom  all  sacrifices  for  his  good  are  a  pleasure,  who  receive  a 
reward  in  their  own  hearts  for  every  effort.  Perfect  dependence 
on  one  side,  and  perfect  love  and  sympathy  on  the  other,  combine 
to  give  almost  omnipotent  force  to  the  instruction  which  is  im- 
parted. 

The  family  circle  is  the  nursery  for  heaven.  There  the  infant 
heart  is  moulded  in  its  moral  sensibilities  ;  there  the  sympathies  and 
affections  all  germinate  and  bud  ;  and  there  all  the  ties  are  formed, 
and  strengthen  daily,  which  bind  the  little  pupil  to  man  and  to 
God,  to  time  and  to  eternity.  In  secret  from  the  world's  prying 


322  Appendix. 

gaze,  under  the  eyes  of  those  onty  whom  God  appoints,  the  tender 
plant  grows  up,  soon  to  be  transplanted  to  the  paradise  of  God,  or 
to  be  cast  out  and  withered  forever.     There,  in  the  family  circle, 
is  not  only  the  home  of  the  affections,  the  fountain  of  earthly  bliss, 
not  only  the  source  of  social  security  and  national  prosperity  :  it  is 
the  birthplace  of  man's  character,  and  of  his  eternal  destiny.     All 
other  institutions  are  of  human  origin,  and  may  be  changed   or 
abolished  ;  but  this  which  God  has  instituted,  blessed,  and  sancti- 
fied, may  not  be  touched  by  the  presuming  wisdom  or  the  rash 
hand  of  man,  without  incurring  the  entailed  curse  of  Heaven.     All 
other  instruction  may  be  voluntary  or  purchased ;   but  from  this 
there  can  be  no  shrinking  and  no  release,  without  inevitable  pun- 
ishment, and  that  of  the  direst  kind.     The  little  plaything  which 
smiling  parents  dandle  on  the  knee  has  a  thinking,  feeling  soul, 
which  must  think  and  feel  forever,  in  heaven  or  in  hell.     Into  their 
hands  it  was  given,  and  at  their  hands  it  will  be  required  again. 
God  has  established  the  school,  appointed  the  teachers,  and  com- 
manded them  to  train  the  pupils  whom  He  commits  to  their  care, 
in  His  nurture  and  admonition.     If  this  trust  be  betraj^ed,  think 
what  your  feelings  must  be,  when  your  children  shall  come  weep- 
ing around  your  dying  beds,  and  you  stretch  forth  your  trembling 
hands  to  bid  them  a  last  adieu,  and  }~ou  shall  feel  their  kind  and 
warm  embrace  no  more !     Think  how  you  will   answer  for  your 
neglect  to  God,  when  your  own  soul  shall  have  passed  "  the  grave, 
and  gate  of  death,"  and  eternity  shall  have  closed  in,  with  all  its 
dark  and  changeless  solemnities,  on  the  spirits  of  the  saved  and 
of  the  lost ! 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  323 


TRUST  IN  GOD  THE  ONLY  SAFETY  OF  NATIONS. 

"  Our  fathers  hoped  in  Thee:  they  trusted  in  Thee,  and  Thou  didst  deliver 
them.  They  called  upon  Thee,  and  were  holpen:  they  put  their  trust  in  Thee, 
and  were  not  confounded."  —  Ps.  xxii.  4,  5. 

IN  the  pilgrimage  of  life,  man  reaches  certain  standpoints  where 
it  is  natural  and  useful  for  him  to  pause  and  reflect.  The  succes- 
sion of  night  and  day,  the  changes  of  the  seasons,  the  beginning 
of  a  new  year,  all  mark  periods  in  human  existence  which  suggest 
topics  suitable  for  calm  and  profitable  consideration. 

We  occupy  a  position  to-day,1  beloved  brethren  and  hearers, 
which  calls  us  to  think  of  the  future,  and  to  meditate  on  the  past. 
By  summoning  before  our  minds  the  events  of  past  years,  and 
carefully  marking  the  circumstances  that  attended  and  afterwards 
followed  them,  we  may  perhaps  anticipate,  with  some  degree  of 
certainty,  the  occurrences  which  will  probably  distinguish  the  year 
upon  which  we  are  entering ;  we  may  avoid  errors  into  which  we 
have  fallen  ;  we  ma}7  guard  against  some  dangers  which  lie  in  our 
paths.  The  power  thus  to  review  the  past,  and  from  the  present 
to  look  forward  to  the  future,  and  to  take  counsel  from  the  lights 
of  experience  and  from  the  suggestions  of  prudence,  is  a  faculty 
that  distinguishes  man  from  all  inferior  animals :  it  is  an  evident 
proof  of  "  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  him,"  an  indication  of 
something  heaven-born,  that  seeks  communion  with  a  spirit  free 
from  the  impurities  and  grossness  of  earthly  things.  Happy  the 
man  who  so  employs  this  noble  faculty  as  to  learn  lessons  of 
heavenly  wisdom,  to  guide  him  through  the  darkness  and  troublous 
scenes  of  time  to  the  bliss  and  glory  of  a  better  world  ! 

Our  text  contains  a  ver}T  forcible  and  distinct  recognition  of  the 
superintendence  of  a  wise  and  gracious  Providence  over  the  affairs 
of  man.  This  recognition  respects  not  merely  an  individual  but 

1  Sunday,  Jan.  1,  1860. 


324  Appendix. 

a  national  acknowledgment  of  the  Divine  care  and  protection. 
"  Our  fathers  hoped  in  Thee:  they  trusted  in  Thee,  and  Thou  didst 
deliver  them."  It  is  the  grateful  language  of  children  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  deliverance  and  blessings  vouchsafed  to  them  through  the 
mercy  and  grace  bestowed  on  their  fathers,  and  urging  this  as  a 
plea  for  continued  help  and  protection.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  is 
the  first  and  most  obvious  reflection  which  springs  naturally  from 
any  meditation  we  may  bestow  upon  the  past  events  of  our  national 
history.  Surely,  if  any  people  have  had  occasion  to  rejoice  and  be 
glad  for  the  Divine  favor  and  blessings,  we  are  pre-eminently  that 
people.  With  every  advantage  of  soil,  and  every  variety  of  cli- 
mate and  production,  a  government  framed  to  secure  equal  rights 
and  privileges  to  all  its  citizens,  freedom  of  conscience,  liberty  of 
speech  and  action,  assured  to  all;  with  such  restraints,  only,  as 
are  indispensable  to  the  common  welfare,  — what  element  is  want- 
ing to  individual  happiness  or  national  prosperity  and  glory  ? 

Yet,  at  a  time  when  the  field  for  enterprise  was  never  wider  or 
more  inviting,  all  the  arts  of  life  never  in  more  successful  opera- 
tion, all  branches  of  industry  never  pushed  forward  more  vigor- 
ously, or  trade  and  commerce  never  more  active,  our  public  affairs 
have  suddenly  assumed  a  dark  and  gloomy  aspect.  The  appre- 
hension of  changes,  bringing  disaster  to  all  our  most  fondly  cher- 
ished hopes,  and  threatening  the  overthrow  and  ruin  of  our  civil 
institutions,  has  arrested  the  attention  of  men  in  all  the  walks  of 
life,  and  almost  compels  reflection.  On  every  hand  we  hear  the 
inquiry,  "  What  is  left  us,  on  which  to  lay  the  foundation  of  hope 
for  our  future  peace  and  stability?"  Let  us,  beloved  brethren, 
bring  to  this  subject  profound  thought,  calm  reflection,  earnest  and 
devout  prayer.  The  day  may  not  be  distant,  God  only  knoweth, 
which  will  summon  us  to  determined  and  vigorous  action,  as  well 
as  patient  suffering. 

The  American  Revolution  evolved  principles  in  reference  to  the 
rights  of  mankind,  and  the  reciprocal  duties  of  rulers  and  sub- 
jects, and  the  ultimate  obligations  upon  which  obedience  to  law  is 
required,  which  have  greatly  elevated  men  in  their  social,  civil, 
and  moral  relations,  enlarged  their  views,  and  have  had  the  effect 
of  wonderfully  ameliorating  the  human  condition  throughout  the 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  325 

world.  The  encroachments  of  barbarism  have  been  pushed  back, 
and  civilization  advanced.  At  the  same  time,  responsibility,  in  all 
the  relations  spoken  of,  has  been  correspondingly  enlarged,  and 
the  danger  of  disregarding  duty  just  as  much  enhanced.  Brief 
as  the  annals  of  our  Republic  may  be,  they  will  bear  witness  to 
the  truth,  that  "when  the  righteous  are  in  authority,  the  people 
rejoice:  but  when  the  wicked  beareth  rule,  the  people  mourn."  1 

It  is  the  province  of  the  historian  to  discuss  the  causes  of  the 
momentous  event  to  which  we  have  referred,  and  which  has 
changed  the  face  of  the  civilized  world.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
philosopher  to  unfold  their  operation  in  the  development  of  their 
proper  results.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  enlightened  statesman  to 
guard  their  practical  application  in  the  affairs  of  government. 
The  prosecution  of  our  present  purpose  leads  us  to  enter  into  none 
of  these  departments  of  rational  inquiry,  however  useful  and  in- 
teresting. 

It  is  a  truth  which,  we  think,  must  be  obvious  to  all  minds,  that 
the  decided  and  unanimous  sentiment  with  which,  as  a  nation,  we 
abhor  the  unnatural  connection  between  religion  and  civil  institu- 
tions, which  embarrasses  the  movements  of  both,  is  characterized 
by  a  jealousy  and  sensitiveness,  for  which  there  is  no  justification 
in  the  circumstances  and  tendencies  of  our  country.  Certain  it  is, 
that,  in  regard  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  she  has  no  vast  resources, 
no  lucrative  sinecures,  no  sounding  titles,  or  social  immunities,  to 
excite  patriotic  apprehensions.  Strike  the  average  of  ministerial 
emolument  among  us,  and  it  will  be  seen  to  fall  below  the  usual 
proceeds  of  mechanical  industry ;  and  in  many  instances,  where 
the  Clergyman  has  expended  his  whole  patrimony  to  fit  himself 
for  his  proper  work,  and  devotes  the  whole  of  his  time  and  talents 
to  the  spiritual  improvement  of  the  people  who  have  engaged  his 
services,  his  labors  are  not  rewarded  by  the  hire  of  a  menial  for 
the  same  period  !  And  to  encourage  him  in  his  "  work  and  labor 
of  love,"  he  is  sometimes  cheered  in  his  toil  by  the  volunteered 
remark,  "  He  preaches  for  money  !  " 

The  plain  truth,  however,  is,  that  if  there  be  any  thing  in  the 

1  Prov.  xxix.  2. 


326  Appendix. 

principles  of  any  Christian  society  among  us,  to  detach  it  from 
political  entanglements,  we  make  bold  to  say,  in  the  Episcopal 
Church  there  is  much  more.  Such  entanglements  are  abhorrent 
from  the  leading  principle,  which,  next  to  Holy  Scripture,  is  the 
guide  of  her  course.  That  principle  is  primitive  usage.  The 
Church  Catholic,  as  we  find  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  was 
founded  on  the  voluntary  system.  During  her  primal  purity,  her 
institutions  were  supported  by  the  free-will  offerings  of  Christians, 
and  she  received  no  notice  from  the  State,  except  that  of  contempt 
and  persecution.  Constantine,  who  ascended  the  imperial  throne 
about  two  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  St.  John,  was  the 
author  of  that  union  of  religion  and  government,  which,  since  the 
dissolution  of  his  colossal  empire,  has  been  kept  up  in  all  its  frag- 
ments. From  that  time  Christianity  declined,  —  declined  not 
only  in  the  harmony  of  its  professors,  but  in  moral  influence  and 
spiritual  purity.  The  experience  of  all  succeeding  ages  demon- 
strates that  the  connection  of  Church  and  State  works  injury  to 
the  civil  rights  and  social  happiness  of  mankind ;  but  the  same 
experience  also  teaches  that  the  political  evil  is  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  detriment  to  religion.  It  is  from  a  deep-felt  con- 
viction of  the  injury  thus  resulting,  that  some  of  the  wisest  and 
most  influential  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  have,  for  years 
past,  labored  most  vigorously  for  the  re-establishment  of  convoca- 
tion, in  order  that  the  Church,  being  freed  from  the  incubus  of  the 
government,  might  exercise  the  right,  enjoyed  by  all  other  reli- 
gious bodies  in  the  realm,  of  discipline  over  its  own  members.  To 
do  this  is  an  indefeasible  right  of  every  Christian  society,  and 
results,  of  necessity,  from  that  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made 
us  free.1 

The  Gospel  is  alone  in  its  origin,  for  God  is  the  Author  of 
Christianity.  Alone  it  ought  to  be  in  its  movements.  It  seeks 
not  the  wisdom  of  cabinets,  nor  the  strong  arm  of  the  civil  power, 
to  effect  its  objects.  It  asks  to  be  let  alone,  to  do  its  work  in  its 
own  wa}^,  and  by  its  own  instruments.  It  calls  only  for  an  open 
field,  a  clear  arena  in  which  to  contend  for  victory  over  the  enemies 

1  St.  Matt.  xvii.  24-27. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  327 

of  truth  and  righteousness.  In  such  a  conflict  Christianity  has 
never  failed,  "  for  God  is  her  helper  and  defender."  Whatever 
does  not  proceed  from  the  same  Divine  source  can  only  corrupt 
and  defile.  Therefore  it  is,  that  the  newly  concocted  systems  of 
our  day,  which  make  pretensions  to  a  purer  morality,  and  affect 
more  efficacious  means  than  those  of  the  Gospel,  —  exacting  on 
pretended  moral  grounds  what  the  Gospel  has  not  required,  and 
condemning  what  it  has  not  forbidden,  —  are  never  so  much  as 
mentioned  in  the  councils  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Her  sanc- 
tuaries she  holds  to  be  the  houses  of  God  ;  and  they  are  open  to  no 
business  of  any  description  but  that  of  the  Gospel,  —  not  even  for 
eulogies  of  Washington,  nor  Fourth-of-July  orations.  Her  Min- 
isters, as  she  solemnly  tells  them,  are  ambassadors  for  Christ ;  and 
they  are  allowed  to  busy  themselves  in  the  dissemination  of  no 
doctrines  but  those  of  the  Bible,  as  she  has  interpreted  its  mean- 
ing, in  her  general  councils,  and  by  the  consentient  agreement  of 
her  members  ;  "  always,  everywhere,  and  by  all.''  Although  other 
matters  may  be  commendable  in  themselves,  they  must  seek,  for 
their  consideration,  other  places  than  her  pulpits,  and  other  agents 
than  her  Ministers,  appointed  to  the  furtherance  of  objects  specifi- 
cally Divine  in  their  purpose,  and  with  which  nothing  merely 
human  can  be  associated  without  causing  defilement. 

From  the  operation  of  this  principle,  it  follows,  that  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  has  no  co-operation  with  the  various 
organizations  for  moral  reform,  so  highly  commended  to  public 
notice,  and  so  common  in  this  age  and  country.  Her  members,  as 
a  general  rule,  abstain  from  any  connection  with  them  ;  and,  in 
obedience  to  the  command  of  the  Apostle,1  withdraw  themselves 
from  those  who  walk  disorderly,  and  not  after  the  traditions  which 
they  have  received  of  the  Apostles  of  Christ.  Hence  they  have 
frequently  to  bear  the  reproach,  most  unjustly  cast  upon  them, 
of  lukewarmness  to  the  Gospel ;  of  opposition  to  the  objects  of 
temperance  societies,  revivals  of  religion,  Evangelical  alliances, 
associations,  called  national  or  American,  formed  to  publish  and 
circulate  books,  and  which  in  some  instances  have  been  found  to 

1  2  Thess.  iii.  6. 


328  Appendix. 

be  fruitful  of  much  pecuniary  gain  to  their  masters.  Episcopa- 
lians are  taught  to  believe  that  God  established  the  Church,  and 
committed  to  it  the  Word,  Ministry,  and  Sacraments,  for  the 
reformation  of  the  world  and  for  the  salvation  of  men  ;  and  that  it 
would  be  wrong  in  them  to  abandon  institutions  of  Divine  appoint- 
ment for  other  instrumentalities  having  only  the  stamp  of  human 
authority  and  the  recommendation  of  man's  wisdom.  In  short, 
we  hold  the  plea  of  expediency,  and  the  whole  kindred  train  of 
commendations  founded  upon  the  probable  amount  of  good  to  be 
accomplished  by  these  human  devices  and  agencies,  to  be  wholly 
irrelevant,  where  God  has  spoken,  and  His  Church  has  acted  in 
submission  to  His  revealed  will  and  published  authority.  Had  we 
acted  on  other  principles,  those  subjects  which  are  now  the  prolific 
source  of  political  agitation,  gathering  in  our  horizon  dark  and 
threatening  clouds,  portentous  of  evil,  and  of  ruin  even,  to  the 
State,  would  long  since  have  found  a  place  of  entertainment  in  our 
pulpits,  and  thence  have  made  an  easy  and  ready  way  of  introduc- 
tion into  our  ecclesiastical  councils.  Such  has,  unhappily,  been 
the  case  with  other  religious  bodies  around  us. 

The  attempts  which  have  been  made  in  this  direction,  hereto- 
fore, among  Churchmen,  have  been  signally  rebuked.  In  one 
instance,  when  a  popular  minister  in  one  of  our  largest  congre- 
gations, in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  made  the  difficulties  in  Kansas 
the  theme  of  his  discourse,  it  was  met  by  the  protest  of  one  of 
the  Wardens  present;  and  the  matter  ended  by  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Clerg3*man,  upon  the  expressed  wish  of  a  majority  of  the 
congregation.  The  last  instance  was  an  attempt,  by  resolution, 
to  introduce  a  discussion  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  into  the 
Convention  of  New  York  in  the  month  of  September  last.  The 
diocese  of  New  York,  by  reason  of  its  numbers  and  wealth,  is 
perhaps  the  strongest  and  most  influential  in  our  Union.  The 
author  and  mover  of  the  resolution  had  courteous  leave  to  with- 
draw his  motion,  by  the  vote  of  every  member  present  but  his 
own.  If  the  same  wise  and  prudent  counsels,  excluding  ques- 
tions which  gender  civil  discord  and  strife,  shall  prevail,  as  here- 
tofore, in  the  legislation  of  the  Church,  and  her  Ministers  and 
members  shall,  in  their  ecclesiastical  organization,  still  confine 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  329 

their  proceedings  to  the  objects  which  properly  belong  to  them, 
as  we  devoutly  trust  they  ma}7,  we  venture  to  say  that  the  day 
is  yet  far  distant  which  will  mark  the  dissolution  of  our  Union 
of  confederated  Dioceses,  a  Union  for  which  measures  were  in 
progress  before  the  adoption  of  our  Federal  Constitution,  which 
exerted  a  happy  and  powerful  influence  in  consummating  that 
great  object,  and  which  is  destined,  perhaps,  in  God's  gracious 
Providence,  to  furnish  one  of  the  strongest  bands  for  its  preser- 
vation. For,  in  some  instances,  the  wisdom  and  judgment  of  the 
same  men1  were  emplo}Ted  in  the  construction  of  both  instru- 
ments ;  and  though  ambition,  passion,  and  fanaticism  may  demol- 
ish the  fabric  of  our  civil  freedom,  we  are  persuaded  that  our 
Church  organization  will  remain  firm  and  unbroken,  amidst  all  the 
storms  and  convulsions  which  sweep  over  the  political  world,  rend 
into  fragments  the  colossal  erections  of  human  power,  and  over- 
throw the  proudest  and  loftiest  structures  projected  by  the  wisdom 
and  consolidated  by  the  combined  strength  and  skill  of  man  ! 

The  full  bearing  and  import  of  these  remarks  will  not,  proba- 
bly, be  understood  and  appreciated  by  the  majorit}T  of  my  hearers, 
without  a  few  words  of  explanation.  Within  three  years  after  the 
termination  of  the  war  of  independence,  conventions  were  held 
by  ministers  and  members  of  the  Church,  from  several  of  the 
States,  for  the  purpose  of  organization,  for  the  formation  of  a 
Constitution,  and  the  adoption  of  measures  to  obtain  the  Conse- 
cration of  Bishops.  These  proceedings  led  first  to  the  election 
and  subsequently  the  consecration  of  Dr.  Seabury  of  Connecticut, 
by  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  at  Aberdeen,  in  1784  ; 
secondly,  to  the  election  of  Dr.  White  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Dr. 
Provoost  of  New  York  ;  and  afterwards  their  consecration  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  other  Bishops  assisting,  at  Lam- 
beth, in  1787.  Thus  was  a  Church  organization  completed  in 
three  separate  and  independent  States.  This  led,  thirdly,  to  the 
meeting  of  a  General  Convention,  composed  of  the  Bishops 
recently  consecrated,  and  of  clerical  and  lay  deputies  from  seven 
States,  in  July  and  September,  1789  ;  when  our  present  Coustitu- 

1  Hons.  John  Rutledge  and  Charles  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina,  and 
Hon.  David  Brearley  of  New  Jersey. 


330 


Appendix. 


tion  (except  the  slight  amendments  since  made)  was  adopted, 
Canons  passed,  and  the  Prayer  Book  set  forth  to  be  used  in  all 
our  congregations.  The  Convention  which  framed  the  Federal 
Constitution  met  in  1787.  That  instrument  was  adopted  by  eleven 
States  in  1788,  and  went  into  operation  April  30,  1789.  Thus  it 
will  be  seen  that  our  Ecclesiastical  Constitution  was  established 
the  same  year  with  the  organization  of  the  Federal  Government. 
It  may  be  naturally  asked,  How  comes  it  to  pass,  that  the  admin- 
istration of  the  one  has  proceeded  harmoniously,  regularly,  and 
successfully,  with  scarcely  any  disturbing  questions,  for  more  than 
threescore  and  ten  years ;  while  that  of  the  other  has  been 
attended  with  strife,  violent  agitation,  and  finally  by  the  intro- 
duction of  subjects  for  discussion  which  threaten  disruption  and 
the  severance  of  those  ties  by  which  our  fathers  sought  to  bind 
us  together  as  a  family  of  brothers?  I  answer  the  question,  in 
the  words  of  a  distinguished  layman,1  and  member  of  our  late 
General  Convention :  — 

"  The  Church  has  done  what  the  Nation  has  not  done.  It  has 
abstained  wholly  and  absolutely  from  an}r  interference  with  local 
affairs,  local  interests,  local  opinions,  and  local  institutions  of  any 
of  the  separate  Dioceses.  The  laity  of  this  American  Church  holds 
it  among  its  highest  secular  duties,  to  do  all  it  possibly  can  to 
preserve  unbroken  the  unity  of  its  great  depository,  the  American 
Eepublic ;  to  avert  from  this  Western  world  the  most  tremendous 
evil  it  can  ever  endure,  — the  dissolution  of  the  American  Union  ; 
not  by  mingling  in  earthly  controversy,  but  by  unceasingly  incul- 
cating the  blessed  spirit  of  justice  and  moderation,  Christian 
charity,  and  fraternal  love." 

Noble  sentiments !  nobly  spoken !  worthy  the  occasion,  the 
man,  and  the  body  to  which  they  were  addressed! 

It  is  a  little  remarkable,  that  during  the  session  of  the  Conven- 
tion which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  while  the 
members  were  embarrassed  by  difficulties  and  conflicts  of  opinion 
that  filled  the  minds  of  the  most  sanguine  with  discouragement 
and  retarded  the  progress  of  their  work,  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin 

1  Hon.  Mr.  Ruggles  of  New  York. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  331 

arose  in  his  place,  and  after  stating,  in  most  plain  and  forcible 
language,  the  troubles  and  embarrassments  that  environed  them, 
and  the  necessity  of  calm  deliberation  and  wisdom  to  guide 
them,  proposed,  with  great  seriousness  of  manner,  that  the  Presi- 
dent should  call  in  the  aid  of  the  Clergy  to  open  their  daily 
sessions  with  prayer,  and  invoke  the  blessing  and  favor  of  God 
upon  their  deliberations.  The  proposal  was  received  with  unani- 
mous acceptance.  How  admirably  appropriate  are  the  words  of 
my  text,  as  a  commentary  upon  this  act:  "  Our  fathers  hoped  in 
Thee:  they  trusted  in  Thee,  and  Thou  didst  deliver  them.  They 
called  upon  Thee,  and  were  holpen :  they  put  their  trust  in  Thee, 
and  were  not  confounded."  Perhaps,  since  the  world  began, 
human  wisdom  has  not  devised  a  more  admirable  frame  of  govern- 
ment, or  one  more  suitable  to  meet  the  existing  exigencies  and 
subsequent  wants  of  our  population,  than  the  labors  of  that  Con- 
vention exhibit.  But  the  framers  of  that  instrument  were  men 
who  feared  God,  and  reverenced  His  law.  They  contemplated 
a  republic  of  Christians,  —  at  least,  of  virtuous  and  intelligent 
people,  —  for  whom  they  were  legislating.  It  never  entered  into 
their  minds  that  such  an  excrescence  as  Mormonism,  foul,  brutal, 
and  blasphemous,  would  ever  grow  upon  the  body  politic  which 
they  were  fashioning  out  of  the  rude  materials  and  disordered 
fragments  of  government,  left  to  them  from  the  convulsions  and 
devastations  of  a  revolution.  They  did  not  suppose  that  a  time 
would  ever  come  when  Christianity  would  cease  to  exert  a  con- 
trolling and  salutary  influence  over  the  laws  and  institutions  of 
this  country,  and  the  conduct  of  its  people.  The  thought  that 
infidelity  would  ever  sway  the  sceptre  of  power  over  this  nation, 
by  the  voluntary  consent  and  expressed  will  of  a  free  people, 
never  obtruded  itself  upon  their  reflections.  Had  they  supposed 
this,  even  as  a  remote  probability,  they  were  men  of  sagacity 
and  wisdom  enough  to  perceive  that  a  different  Constitution  from 
the  one  they  gave  us  would  be  demanded.  Infidelity  can  be 
curbed  and  restrained  only  by  standing  armies,  by  the  strong 
hand  and  iron  heart  of  a  relentless  despotism.  Our  forefathers 
sought  for  far  different  agencies  to  insure  "  protection  to  life, 
limb,  and  property,"  under  the  government  which  they  estab- 


332  Appendix. 

lished.  They  looked  to  an  enlightened  moral  sentiment  among 
the  people,  founded  upon  the  diffusion  of  intelligence,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  solemn  sanctions  of  the  Christian  religion,  to  impart 
efficacy  to  the  laws,  and  insure  their  due  and  regular  execution. 
They  supposed  that  the  primary  school  and  the  academy  and  the 
college  would  collect  the  youth  of  the  country  from  every  home- 
stead in  the  land,  embracing  alike  the  mansions  of  opulence  and 
the  rude  log  cabins  of  the  wilderness ;  and  that  faithful  teachers 
would  instruct  the  children  of  freedom  in  the  knowledge  of  their 
rights  and  privileges,  their  duties  and  responsibilities.  They 
hoped  that  the  temples  of  religion  would  crown  the  summits  of 
all  our  hills,  and  lift  their  spires  from  all  our  towns  and  villages, 
and  that  the  sweet  voice  of  Christian  praise  would  be  heard  swell- 
ing the  offerings  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  as  they  rose,  like 
a  vast  and  homogeneous  cloud  of  incense,  from  the  hearts  and 
lips  of  grateful  millions  to  the  throne  of  the  Eternal !  The  hopes 
of  our  fathers  have  not  been  altogether  disappointed.  Their  trust 
has  not  been  wholly  vain.  Hitherto  the  Lord  hath  helped.  For 
more  than  threescore  and  ten  years  our  country  has  enjoyed  a 
measure  of  prosperity,  in  the  increase  of  its  population,  and  the 
rapid  development  of  its  resources  and  power,  without  a  parallel  in 
history,  and  unequalled  in  the  annals  of  nations. 

Look  to  our  past  and  present  surroundings,  beloved  brethren, 
and  then  consider  with  }X>urselves  what  ought  to  be  the  conclu- 
sions and  the  duty  of  every  man  among  us.  Within  the  memory 
of  those  now  living,  the  thirteen  Colonies,  bordering  on  our  Atlan- 
tic coast,  were  engaged  in  a  terrific  conflict  for  freedom  with  the 
most  formidable  power  in  the  world.  For  the  justice  and  main- 
tenance of  the  declaration  which  our  fathers  then  made,  they 
appealed  to  the  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  universe,  and  they  pledged 
to  each  other  in  its  support  —  what?  The  spoils  of  vanquished 
enemies  ?  No  !  The  emoluments  of  office  ?  No  !  The  elevation 
of  partisan  favorites  to  places  of  power  and  trust  ?  No !  But 
their  own  4'  LIVES,  THEIR  FORTUNES,  AND  THEIR  MOST  SACRED 
HONOR  !  "  Oh  for  the  kindling  of  that  same  spirit  again  in  the 
hearts  of  our  countrymen !  There  was  no  question  then  raised 
about  local  privileges,  sectional  rights,  or  domestic  institutions. 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  333 

Shoulder  to  shoulder,  the  cool  and  calculating  New-Englander  and 
the  fiery  and  impetuous  Southron  stood  in  the  serried  ranks  of 
war ;  and  the  slave,  by  the  side  of  his  master,  met  the  fierce  onset 
of  battle,  and  dealt  the  death-blow  to  the  common  enemy.  Their 
blood  flowed  in  the  same  curdling  streams  on  the  field  of  carnage. 
Together  they  endured  the  same  piercing  colds  of  winter ;  marked 
the  same  snow-clad  plains  with  their  bleeding  feet ;  bivouacked  on 
the  same  frozen  ground  without  tents  to  shelter  or  blankets  to 
cover  them,  and  arose,  hunger-bitten,  to  resume  their  wear}7  march 
in  retreat  before  a  superior  and  victorious  foe,  or  hasten  to  the 
protection  of  helpless  women  and  children  from  the  murderous 
tomahawk  or  seal  ping-knife  of  merciless  savages!  "  They  called 
upon  the  Lord,  and  were  Jiolpen :  they  put  their  trust  in  God,  and 
were  not  confounded." 

Those  thirteen  feeble  and  struggling  Colonies  have  grown  into 
thirty-two  States,  united  together  under  a  Constitution,  for  "  form- 
ing a  more  perfect  union,  establishing  justice,  insuring  domestic 
tranquillity,  providing  for  the  common  defence,  promoting  the 
general  welfare,  and  securing  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  themselves 
and  posterity,"  —  a  Constitution  ordained  and  established  by  the 
people  themselves  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  and  recognized  as 
their  act.  It  is  an  instrument  which,  for  its  profound  wisdom,  far- 
reaching  sagacity,  and  wonderful  adaptation  to  secure  the  legiti- 
mate ends  of  government,  may  fairly  challenge  the  admiration  of 
the  world. 

Our  territory  now  stretches  across  the  continent,  from  ocean  to 
ocean ;  while,  from  the  frozen  regions  on  the  north  to  the  sunny 
plains  of  the  South,  is  found  every  variety  of  climate  and  of  pro- 
duction for  the  gratification  of  taste,  the  support  of  animal  life,  to 
stimulate  enterprise,  or  reward  honest  industry.  Situated  between 
two  oceans,  one  washing  the  lands  where  all  the  arts  of  civilized 
life  have  received  the  most  attention  and  attained  the  greatest 
perfection,  where  science  and  skill  have  combined  to  contribute 
their  stores  most  abundantly  to  the  comfort  of  man  ;  and  the  other 
laving  with  its  blue  waves  the  shores  of  Asia,  with  its  countless 
inhabitants,  reckoned  by  hundreds  of  millions,  and  pregnant  with 
its  rich  and  exhaustless  stores  of  wealth, — our  country  thus 


334  Appendix. 

placed,  if  we  are  not  faithless  to  our  trust,  must  become  the  middle 
ground  on  which  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  find  a  central  depot 
for  their  productions  and  commerce. 

Have  we  reflected  also,  that,  since  the  progress  of  our  national 
development  and  growth  began,  the  inventive  genius  of  man  has 
brought  to  light,  and  laid  at  our  feet,  as  if  for  our  more  especial 
benefit,  the  most  important  agents  for  advancement  in  all  the 
pursuits  and  occupations  which  elevate  individual  character,  or 
promote  national  exaltation  ?  With  a  mighty  continent  to  occup}r, 
vast  wildernesses  to  penetrate,  immense  forests  to  fell  and  subdue, 
mighty  rivers  to  make  navigable,  roads  to  construct,  and  inter- 
course to  be  established,  we  stood  in  peculiar  need  of  labor.  The 
invention  of  the  cotton-gin  enables  the  cotton-grower  in  a  day  to 
perform  the  labor  of  months  in  preparing  that  article  for  market. 
The  application  of  steam  to  machinery  and  navigation  is  a  giant's 
stride  in  the  same  direction  :  it  is  equivalent  to  the  employment 
of  millions  of  hands  in  the  pursuits  of  industry,  and  elevates  the 
cotton-plant,  by  the  use  of  the  steam-power  loom,  into  the  com- 
mercial staple  of  the  world.  It  is  said  to  be  the  grand  regulator 
of  trade.  It  furnishes  the  readiest,  the  cheapest,  and  the  best 
article  for  supplying  clothes  to  the  people  of  every  clime,  to  the 
barbarian  and  the  civilized,  to  the  bond  or  the  free  man.  How 
wonderful  the  working  of  God's  providence !  The  labor  of  the 
negro  is  made  tributary  to  the  work  of  supplying  his  nude  country- 
man in  Africa  with  clothing,  thereby  inspiring  him  with  self-respect, 
and  thus  opening  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  Christianity  and 
civilization. 

Next  comes  the  telegraph,  to  bear  intelligence  on  the  light- 
ning's wings,  swifter  than  the  flight  of  time,  wherever  a  wire  can 
be  stretched,  or  a  pole  raised  for  its  support.  What  more  do  we 
want  in  the  way  of  material  advantages  ?  Do  you  think  that  all 
these  blessings  were  obtained  at  little  or  no  cost?  I  tell  you,  No  ! 
Like  the  blessing  of  all  blessings,  —  REDEMPTION,  —  they  were 
gained  at  the  price  of  blood  !  They  were  purchased  at  the  expense 
of  the  sufferings  and  treasure,  the  tears  and  blood,  of  a  seven 
years'  war ;  by  the  labors  and  sacrifices  and  lives  of  such  men  as 
Washington  and  Henry  and  Warren,  of  Marshall  and  Morris  and 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  335 

Montgomery,  of  Greene  and  Franklin  and  Hayne !  Ay,  time 
would  fail  me  to  tell  of  the  long  line  of  patriotic  worthies,  who 
"  counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves,"  for  their  country's 
sake,  than  whom  purer  spirits  never  mingled  in  the  strife  of  battle, 
or  poured  out,  like  water,  nobler  blood  for  the  rights  of  man,  or 
laid  on  the  altar  of  liberty  holier  offerings,  sanctified  by  prayer  ! 

Do  you  think  that  the  priceless  favors  we  enjoy  were  conferred 
without  the  hand  of  God  ?  or  that  He  will  not  hold  us  accountable 
for  the  trust  committed  to  our  management  and  keeping,  for  the 
benefit  of  His  Church,  of  posterity,  and  of  the  world?  Depend 
upon  it,  though  we  may  deeply  deplore  the  evils  which  afflict  our 
country,  and  though  we  may  carefully  abstain  from  any  word  or 
act  to  hasten  the  catastrophe  which  is  impending  over  our  Union, 
still,  as  a  part  of  the  nation,  we  may  share  in  the  direful  conse- 
quences which  God  in  His  wrath  may  permit  to  come  upon  us,  as 
the  deserved  punishment  of  national  sin  and  national  ingratitude. 
For,  remember  that  nations,  as  such,  will  not  be  held  to  answer 
at  the  bar  of  God's  judgment,  as  individual  transgressors ;  but 
here,  in  this  world,  they  will  reap  the  reward  of  iniquity,  and  find 
pride,  injustice,  faithlessness,  and  ingratitude  visited  by  an  over- 
flowing flood  of  shame,  humiliation,  oppression,  corruption,  and 
contempt. 

Say  not  in  your  hearts,  beloved  brethren,  that  you  can  do  noth- 
ing in  this  case.  You  can  at  least  pray.  At  the  prayer  of  Moses, 
the  sea  was  divided,  the  children  of  Israel  were  delivered,  and 
their  enemies  destn^ed.  When  Moses  prayed,  the  Amalekites 
were  defeated,  and  the  Israelites  prevailed.  At  the  prayer  of 
Joshua,  "the  sun  stood  still  upon  Gibeon,  and  the  moon  in  the 
valley  of  Ajalon."  At  the  prayer  of  Elijah,  the  windows  of 
heaven  were  closed,  so  that  it  rained  not  for  three  years  and  six 
months.  Again,  at  his  intercessions  and  prayers,  fire  fell  from 
heaven  to  consume  the  sacrifice  on  Mount  Carmel,  and  a  great 
rain  fell  to  water  the  earth.  When  the  Apostles  prayed,  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  given.  When  the  Church  prayed,  St.  Peter  was  deliv- 
ered. Prayer  is  the  instrument  put  into  the  hand  of  the  humblest 
believer,  which,  used  in  faith,  touches  the  spring  that  sets  in 
motion  the  machinery  that  moves  the  universe.  Then  pray  !  pray 


336  Appendix. 

earnestly !  pray  more  earnestly  !  The  God  of  the  universe  is  the 
sovereign  Disposer  of  nations,  as  well  as  of  souls.  To  Him  we 
are  indebted  for  civil  and  social  as  well  as  personal  blessing  and 
protection.  "  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  any 
confidence  in  man.  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put 
any  confidence  in  princes."  Wait  not  for  your  rulers  to  provide 
a  remedy  for  evils  of  which  they  are  themselves  the  chief  authors, 
but  beseech  God  to  save  us  from  the  blindness  of  our  rulers  and 
"  the  madness  of  the  people."  What  will  avail  our  dissensions, 
what  our  party  names,  —  Republicans,  Democrats,  Opposition,  or 
American,  —  when  fanaticism  and  party  spirit  shall  have  done 
their  work,  shall  have  overturned  the  beautiful  fabric  of  our  civil 
freedom,  shall  have  pulled  down  the  strong  pillars  that  upheld  our 
Union,  and  marred  its  fair  proportions ;  and  when  we  shall  sit 
down,  like  the  Jews,  "by  the  waters  of  Bab3*lon,"  in  bitterness 
of  heart  and  anguish  of  spirit,  to  weep  over  the  departed  glory  of 
our  country,  its  desolation  and  its  ruin  ! 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  337 


CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT  FOUNDED  UPON 
THE  RECOGNITION  OF  GOD'S  SOVEREIGNTY. 

"  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Samuel,  Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the  people  in 
all  that  they  say  unto  thee:  for  they  have  not  rejected  thee,  hut  they  have 
rejected  me,  that  I  should  not  reign  over  them."  —  1  SAM.  viii.  7. 

IT  is  maintained  by  wise  and  eminent  men,  that  mankind  de- 
rived their  first  ideas  of  government  from  the  parental  relation. 
Certain  it  is,  that  the  earliest  rule  of  which  we  read  in  history  was 
after  this  model.  It  seems  natural  and  becoming,  that  the  father 
of  the  family  should  have  the  chief  direction  and  control  of  what- 
ever arrangements  are  necessary  for  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  all 
the  members  of  the  household. 

As  the  human  race  multiplied  rapidly,  in  periods  when  the  life 
of  man  was  prolonged  through  several  centuries  of  years,  the 
experience  gained  thereby,  in  general  oversight  and  government, 
would  of  course  enhance  the  influence  of  the  oldest  progenitor,  if 
his  administration  had  been  wise,  prudent,  and  just.  This  form 
of  government  still  obtains  in  some  parts  of  the  earth  where  the 
circumstances  of  soil  and  climate  are  not  most  favorable  to  the 
purposes  of  agriculture,  and  to  the  congregating  of  large  numbers 
of  the  human  family  for  social  objects.  Such  appears  to  be  the 
case  with  the  Arabians,  the  Koords,  and  other  nomadic  tribes  of 
Asia  and  Africa,  and  the  aborigines  of  our  own  continent. 
Among  all  these,  the  patriarchal  institution,  in  which  the  supreme 
power  is  lodged  in  the  heads  of  families,  seems  to  prevail  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent.  As  the  population  of  the  world  increased, 
and  settlements  were  made  in  parts  remote  from  each  other,  and 
distinguished  by  differences  of  soil,  climate,  and  productions,  this 
primeval  form  of  government,  called  by  some  writers  the  golden 
age,  was  modified  in  various  ways.  Combinations  took  place 
among  different  heads  of  families,  and  this  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  political  communities,  and  the  choice  of  a  few  persons 


338  Appendix. 

charged  with  the  care  of  the  common  interests  and  welfare.  Thus 
oligarchies  were  introduced,  forms  of  government  in  which  the 
chief  legislative  and  executive  power  was  lodged  in  the  hands  of 
a  small  number  of  the  principal  men.  The  pursuits  of  men  in 
primeval  ages  were  favorable  to  the  development  of  what  is  termed 
native  talent.  The  incidents  and  dangers  of  the  chase  prepared 
them  for  the  conflicts  of  war,  and  drew  forth  an  exhibition  of 
physical  strength,  prowess,  and  sagacity ;  and  thus  successful  and 
favorite  leaders  were  very  soon  elevated  to  the  possession  and 
exercise  of  kingly  power. 

Such,  briefty,  appears  to  have  been  the  progress  of  things  in 
the  affairs  of  government  generally,  and  the  process  or  steps 
through  which  men  passed,  in  their  civil  or  social  arrangements,  in 
the  earliest  times,  and  down  to  the  period  of  authentic  history. 

To  this  idea  of  gradual  development  in  the  establishment  of  a 
government  for  the  protection  of  life  and  property,  founded  on  the 
experience  and  necessities  of  mankind,  there  is  one  remarkable 
arid  striking  exception.  It  is  found  among  the  Hebrews,  or 
children  of  Israel.  They  were  the  first  people  on  earth,  of  whom 
history  records  that  they  had  a  written  constitution,  —  an  original 
enactment  of  elementarj*  principles  or  fundamental  law,  —  recog- 
nized by,  but  independent  of,  human  wisdom,  experience,  and 
necessity,  for  its  authority  and  sanctions.  It  was  written  by  the 
finger  of  God,  upon  two  tables  of  stone  ;  solemnly  proclaimed  from 
Mount  Sinai,  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  people,  under  circumstances 
of  overpowering  grandeur  and  magnificence ;  and  as  publicly 
received  by  the  nation  as  the  fundamental  law  or  constitution  by 
which  they,  and  their  children,  and  children's  children,  should  be 
governed  through  all  generations.  Upon  these  laws,  called  the 
Decalogue,  or  Ten  Commandments,  are  founded  all  the  institutions 
of  Moses  prescribing  religious  duties,  and  securing  personal  and 
proprietary  rights  even  to  the  minutest  particulars.  These  Com- 
mandments are  likewise  the  foundation  of  every  enlightened  sys- 
tem of  legislation  and  jurisprudence,  among  all  civilized  nations 
under  heaven.  To  suppose  that  they  emanated  from  the  wisdom 
of  the  Hebrews,  a  nation  down-trodden  and  crushed  by  a  brutal 
bondage,  is  simply  a  degree  of  stupidity  removed  only  one  step 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  339 

from  its  parent,  insanity.  To  suppose  that  they  originated  with 
Moses,  aided  and  informed  by  the  learning  which  he  had  acquired 
among  the  Egj'ptians,  is  unworthy  the  consideration  of  a  thought- 
ful and  sagacious  mind,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  such  laws 
existed,  in  form  or  essence,  among  the  Eg}Tptians ;  an  assertion 
which  no  delver  in  archaeological  lore  has  ever,  to  nrf  knowledge, 
ventured  to  make.  Yet  the  fact  is  undisputed,  that  they  were 
found  among  the  Hebrews ;  that  they  have  been  held  sacred  by 
that  people,  among  all  the  strange  vicissitudes  that  have  attended 
them  in  their  wanderings  through  all  climes  ;  and  that  the}T  are  to 
this  da}'  held  to  be  obligatory  by  their  descendants,  as  they  now 
dwell  alone,  peculiar  and  distinct  among  the  nations. 

The  first  law  of  this  code  is,  "  Thou  shalt  have  none  other  gods 
but  me."     God  was  the  King  of  the  Hebrews,  —  made  so,  if  any 
please,  by  the  unanimous  voice  or  vote  of  the  people,  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  Sinai ;  and  all  the  laws  promulgated  for  their  observance 
and  government  were  thenceforth  in  His  name  and  by  His  author- 
ity.    "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  uThus  saith  the  Lord,"  clothed 
every  enactment  of  Moses,  every  decree  of  the  kings,  and  every 
solemn  message  and  warning  of  the  prophets,  with  all  the  obliga- 
tion they  possessed,  and  gave  them  all  their  sanction.     Under  this 
theocracy  the  Hebrews  lived  and  prospered  as  long  as  they  for- 
feited not  the  protection  and  providential  care  of  their  King,  by 
their  rebellions  and  their  sins.      They  could  live   and   prosper, 
though  they  had  to  pa}T  an  annual  capitation  tax  in  token  of  their 
allegiance  to  their  Sovereign,  and  a  tenth  yearly  of  all  the  fruits 
of  their  labor,  whether  the  products  of  the  harvest,  of  the  vine- 
yard, of  the  oliveyard,  or  the  yield  of  the  flock,  the  herd,  or  the 
stall ;  to  let  their  fields  lie  uncultivated,  and  their  vintage  ungath- 
ered,  every  seventh  }Tear;   to  free  every  man  his  servants,  and 
remit  the  payment  of  all  debts,  at  the  return  of  every  jubilee  or 
fiftieth  year.     It  is  evident  that  no  people  on  earth  could  subsist 
under  such  an  economy,  unless,  like  the  Hebrews,  they  enjoyed 
the  special  and  provident  care  of  Heaven.     But  these  people  were 
never  without  witness  of  the  power  of  God  to  support  them,  though 
repeatedly  rebelling  against  Him,  and  forfeiting  His  protection. 
By  His  power  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  were  divided,  to  let  them 


340  Appendix. 

pass  in  safety  from  the  pursuit  of  their  enemies.  At  His  word, 
manna  fell  from  heaven  to  furnish  them  with  bread  ;  from  the  rock 
living  waters  gushed  forth  to  slake  their  thirst ;  and  the  air  was 
darkened  with  quails  sent  to  give  them  meat.  Victoriously  settled 
in  the  land  promised  to  their  fathers,  they  continued  to  increase 
and  prosper,  under  the  rule  of  their  judges  raised  up  from  time 
to  time  by  God  for  their  deliverance,  until  the  time  of  Samuel. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  life  and  administration,  his  sons  became 
dissolute  ;  and  the  people,  fearing  a  recurrence  of  the  misrule  and 
oppression  suffered  under  the  profligate  house  of  Eli,  after  that 
the  aged  prophet  should  be  gathered  to  his  fathers,  came,  with 
their  assembled  elders  and  tribes,  to  Samuel  at  Ramah,  and  said 
unto  him,  "  Behold,  thou  art  old,  and  thy  sons  walk  not  in  thy 
ways  :  now  make  us  a  king  to  judge  us  like  all  the  nations.  But 
the  thing  displeased  Samuel,  when  they  said,  Give  us  a  king  to 
judge  us.  And  Samuel  pra}Ted  unto  the  Lord.  And  the  Lord 
said  unto  Samuel,  Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the  people  in  all  that 
they  say  unto  thee :  for  they  have  not  rejected  thee,  but  they  have 
rejected  me,  that  I  should  not  reign  over  them.  .  .  .  Yet  protest  sol- 
emnly unto  them,  and  show  them  the  manner  of  the  king  that  shall 
reign  over  them."  Samuel  then  proceeded  to  recite  to  them  the 
oppressions  and  all  the  evil  which  their  king  should  bring  upon 
them,1  that,  being  warned  of  all  these  direful  consequences,  they 
might  be  persuaded  to  repent,  and  withdraw  their  demand  for  a 
king.  But  they  refused  to  be  warned  ;  and  the  Lord  again  said 
to  Samuel,  "  Hearken  unto  their  voice,  and  make  them  a  king." 

In  due  time,  Saul  was  pointed  out  by  Divine  designation,  and 
anointed  king  over  Israel ;  but  not  until  Samuel  had  again  gathered 

1  "And  Samuel  told  all  the  words  of  the  Lord  unto  the  people  that 
asked  of  him  a  king.  And  he  said,  This  will  be  the  manner  of  the  king 
that  shall  reign  over  you:  He  will  take  your  sons,  and  appoint  them  for 
himself,  for  his  chariots,  and  to  be  his  horsemen;  and  some  shall  run 
before  his  chariots.  And  he  will  appoint  him  captains  over  thousands, 
and  captains  over  fifties;  and  will  set  them  to  ear  his  ground,  and  to 
reap  his  harvest,  and  to  make  his  instruments  of  war,  and  instruments 
of  his  chariots.  And  he  will  take  your  daughters  to  be  confectionaries, 
and  to  be  cooks,  and  to  be  bakers.  And  he  will  take  your  fields,  and 
your  vineyards,  and  your  oliveyards,  even  the  best  of  them,  arid  give 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  341 

all  the  people  to  Mizpeh,  and  said  unto  them:  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel,  Ye  have  this  day  rejected  your  God,  who  him- 
self saved  you  out  of  all  your  adversities  and  your  tribulations ; 
and  ye  have  said  unto  Him,  Nay,  but  set  a  king  over  us.  ...  Then 
Samuel  told  the  manner  of  the  kingdom,  and  wrote  it  in  a  book, 
and  laid  it  up  before  the  Lord."  The  king  thus  appointed  and 
constituted  over  Israel  acted  as  the  viceroy  of  God.  The  funda- 
mental law  of  the  kingdom,  established  and  proclaimed  at  Mount 
Sinai,  was  never  abrogated.  The  form  of  administration  was 
changed  ;  a  king,  instead  of  a  judge,  ruled :  but  the  law,  "  Thou 
slialt  have  none  other  gods  but  me,"  remained  in  full  force,  and 
bound  the  king  in  Israel  ever  after  as  firmly  and  as  strictly  as  it 
did  the  meanest  subject  in  the  kingdom.  How  else  can  we  account 
for  this,  among  many  other  similar  and  wondrous  facts,  that  during 
the  reign  of  wicked  Ahab  and  his  infamous  queen  Jezebel,  when 
there  was  a  general  apostasy  from  the  true  God,  Elijah,  single  and 
alone,  overthrew  the  reigning  imposture,  and  slew  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  prophets  and  priests  of  the  prevalent  idolatry,  and  neither 
Ahab  nor  his  court  dared  to  interpose  for  their  rescue  ?  Through 
all  the  period  when  the  kings  reigned,  and  afterwards  when  the 
kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah  were  overthrown,  and  the  people, 
made  captives,  were  transported  to  Assyria  and  to  Babylon,  we 
meet  with  repeated  instances  when  God  was  appealed  to  for  the 
vindication  of  His  truth,  and  the  protection  of  His  servants  who 
trusted  in  Him,  and  his  interposition  was  not  invoked  in  vain. 
The  preservation  of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  cast  into 
the  fiery  furnace  seven-fold  heated  by  order  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  the  deliverance  of  Daniel  from  the  den  of  lions,  during  the 
reign  of  Darius  the  Persian,  to  name  no  more,  are  instances  in 

them  to  his  servants.  And  he  will  take  the  tenth  of  your  seed,  and  of 
your  vineyards,  and  give  to  his  officers,  and  to  his  servants.  And  he 
will  take  your  menservants,  and  your  maidservants,  and  your  goodliest 
young  men,  and  your  asses,  and  put  them  to  his  work.  He  will  take 
the  tenth  of  your  sheep:  and  ye  shall  be  his  servants.  And  ye  shall  cry 
out  in  that  day  because  of  your  king  which  ye  shall  have  chosen  you; 
and  the  Lord  will  not  hear  you  in  that  day.  Nevertheless  the  people 
refused  to  obey  the  voice  of  Samuel:  and  they  said,  Nay;  but  we  will 
have  a  king  over  us."  —  1  SAM.  viii.  10-19. 


342  Appendix. 

point.  In  all  these  cases,  —  and  many  more  might  be  named,  — 
the  claim  of  God's  sovereignty  was  triumphantly  vindicated,  and 
the  mightiest  monarchs  of  earth  bowed  submissively  to  the  honor 
of  His  majesty,  and  with  royal  authority  commanded  all  nations 
and  kindreds  and  people  to  do  Him  homage,  and  to  pay  Him 
worship. 

I  have  said  that  the  first  written  Constitution  for  the  govern- 
ment of  a  people  was  given  to  the  Hebrews.  And  now  it  is  a 
fact  as  remarkable,  that  ours  is  the  first  written  Constitution  in 
modern  times.  We  sometimes  hear  it  said,  or  see  it  loosely  writ- 
ten, that  the  Grecian  and  Roman  Republics  had  Constitutions. 
They  had  laws  originated  by  themselves,  or  borrowed  from  other 
people ;  but  a  constitutional  form  of  government  they  had  not. 
People  sometimes  speak  also  of  the  British  Constitution.  There 
is  no  such  instrument  in  existence,  and  never  was.  The  British 
people  have  their  "  Magna  Charta,"  their  bill  of  rights,  the  acts 
of  Parliament,  and  the  common  law  ;  and  that  is  all. 

And  here  I  take  occasion  to  introduce  the  mention  of  another 
remarkable  and  no  less  noteworthy  fact.     It  is,  as  I  believe,  that 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  is  the  only  religious  denomina- 
tion, certainly  in  this  country,  if  not  in  the  world,  that  has  incor- 
porated with  her  daily  service  the  Apostles'  and  Nicene  Creeds, 
without    alteration,   addition,   or   subtraction.      These    formulas, 
which  are  "proven  by  most  sure  warrants  of  Holy  Scripture," 
set  forth  most  clearly  the  articles  of  ' '  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints."     As  the  whole  Jewish  economy  was  based  upon  the 
Decalogue,  so  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church  ordained  by  Christ, 
and  all  the  institutions  of  Christianity,  are  founded  upon  the  recog- 
nition of  the   elementary   principles   or  doctrines   taught  in  the 
Creeds  and  witnessed  by  the  Church  as  the  truth   of  God.     To 
take  from  or  add  to  these  Creeds,  is  heresy.     And  now  you  per- 
ceive a  reason  why  the  Church,  as  long  as  she  pursues  the  proper 
work  enjoined  upon  her  by  her  Lord  and  Redeemer,  can  and  ought 
to  have  no  concern  with  the  agitating  questions  of  the  day,  with 
new  theories  in  religion,  or  dogmas  of  faith,  which  were  not  re- 
ceived and  held  from  the  beginning.     The  faith  which  she  teaches, 
though  it  embraces  not  all  truth  known  or  revealed,  contains  all 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  343 

that  is  necessary  to  salvation ;  and  like  the  great  principle  which 
binds  all  the  parts  of  the  universe  in  harmony  and  order,  this  faith, 
truly  received  and  kept,  preserves  all  the  members  of  Christ  "  in 
unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness  of  life.'* 
We  return  from  this  digression  to  say,  that,  since  the  formation 
and  adoption  of  our  Federal  Constitution,  most  of  the  European 
nations,  as  well  as  the  republics  of  South  America,  have  ordained 
and  established  written  Constitutions.  In  one  particular,  our  Con- 
stitution differs,  if  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken,  from  most  if  not  all 
others  ;  and  that  is,  in  declining  to  make  any  provision  for  the 
support  of  religion.  All  other  nations  have  laid  religion  at  the 
base  of  their  civil  institutions,  and  regarded  the  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem in  alliance  with  the  political.  Our  fathers  thought  and  acted 
differently.  Not  that  they  were  opposed  to  Christianity  ;  but  they 
believed  that  the  Gospel  of  Christ  would  be  most  successful  when 
left  to  itself,  to  the  voluntary  and  unconstrained  support  of  a  free 
people,  among  whom  truth  might  have  an  open  field  to  combat 
error,  and  enjoy  protection,  whether  elevated  to  the  high  places  of 
earthly  power,  grandeur,  and  dignity,  or  taking  a  lowly  and  un- 
obtrusive seat  by  the  fireside  of  the  poor  man,  and  instilling  its 
sanctifying  principles  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  little  children, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  maternal  teaching. 

The  objects  and  expectations  of  our  fathers  have  not  yet  failed. 
We  have  good  hope  that  the  mantle  which  has  fallen  upon  their 
sons  descended  with  a  portion  of  their  spirit  of  wisdom  also  ;  and 
that  the  future  history  of  our  country,  when  unfolded  before  the 
admiring  gaze  of  posterity,  will  show  that  God  is  most  devoutly 
and  sincerely  worshipped  when  the  conscience  is  unfettered  by 
any  restrictions  of  man's  enactment,  and  where  every  one  is 
allowed  to  worship  God  as  his  understanding  approves,  without 
fear  of  molestation,  and  without  a  wish  to  interrupt  others.  It  is 
some  comfort  to  reflect,  that  notwithstanding  all  our  unseemly 
divisions  upon  the  subject  of  religion,  perpetuated  to  the  reproach 
of  our  common  Christianity,  the  religious  sentiment,  in  some  form 
of  expression,  has  a  firm  and  extensive  hold  on  the  American 
people.  The  great  mind  of  the  nation  respects  Christianity,  and 
reverences  its  doctrines  and  great  central  truths  ;  as,  for  example, 


344  Appendix. 

those  set  forth  in  the  Apostles'  Creed.  All  the  States  have  passed 
laws  for  its  protection  ;  the  highest  judicial  decisions  have  affirmed 
that  Christianity  is  a  part  of  the  common  law  of  our  country ;  and 
wherever  attempts  have  been  made  to  dishonor  it,  they  have  origi- 
nated with  the  insanity  of  a  vulgar  infidelit37,  the  presumption  and 
arrogance  of  an  ignorant  and  a  wild  fanaticism,  or  the  low  cunning 
and  unmanly  trickery  of  artful  arid  selfish  politicians.  Such  men 
have  formed  their  notions  of  civil  liberty  under  the  oppressive 
forms  of  rule  in  the  Old  World,  amidst  the  anarchy  and  upheav- 
ings  of  revolution  ;  or  in  the  licentiousness  and  violence  of  oppos- 
ing factions,  on  election-day,  in  our  large  commercial  cities. 
These  are  the  men  to  whom  aspirants  for  office  appeal  for  support, 
and  whom  they  flatter  and  cajole  into  their  purposes,  as  the  honest 
and  hard-working  poor,  struggling  to  rise  into  positions  of  influ- 
ence and  places  of  trust  and  honor.  These  are  the  men  who,  of 
late  3'ears,  boldly  insist  upon  an  independence  of  God  himself,  as 
a  part  of  their  civil  liberty  ;  who  claim  that  the  proceedings  of  our 
Legislatures  shall  not  be  opened  with  prayer,  that  the  services  of 
chaplains  in  our  army  and  navy  shall  be  dispensed  with,  and  the 
wounded  and  dying  soldier  and  seaman  shall  be  without  the  aid 
and  comforts  of  religion,  and,  when  dead,  shall  be  buried  like 
brute  beasts.  These  are  the  men  who  ask  that  the  solemnity  of 
oaths  be  discontinued  in  all  our  judicial  proceedings;  and  thus, 
virtually,  they  cast  off  the  fear  of  God  and  of  future  punishment. 
These  are  the  men,  finally,  who,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
party  organizations  and  faction,  have  succeeded  in  driving  the 
sober,  prudent,  and  really  wise  and  conservative  men  out  of  the 
country,  from  the  National  and  State  councils,  and  by  the  action 
of  self-constituted  and  irresponsible  conventions,  aided  by  a  venal 
and  corrupting  press,  afraid  to  give  utterance  to  any  statement 
which  is  not  indorsed  by  a  party,  have  actually  succeeded  in  arrest- 
ing the  regular  operations  of  the  government,  and  have  brought, 
or  threaten  to  bring,  its  whole  machinery  to  a  dead-lock !  In  a 
word,  things  have  come  to  that  pass  of  corruption  and  venality, 
under  the  lead  of  ambitious  and  unscrupulous  men,  that  the  disso- 
lution of  the  Union  and  destruction  of  the  government  is  the  open 
and  undisguised  alternative  preferred  to  the  defeat  and  overthrow 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  345 

of  a  party.  Such  are  the  best  pretensions  which  the  parties  that 
distract  the  nation  can  make  to  the  patriotism  that  animated  our 
fathers.  They  were  zealous  for  civil  freedom.  They  perilled  all 

—  life,  fortune,  and  honor  —  for  country;  and,  sooner  than  have 
spoken  a  word  or  done  an  act  to  jeopardize  its  honor  or  its  safety, 
they  would  have  suffered  their  tongues  to  be  torn  out  by  the  roots, 
and  "let  their  arms  fall  from  the  shoulder-blade,  and  had  their 
arms  broken  from  the  bone."  l 

In  a  country  like  ours,  where  the  connection  between  civil  and 
private  sentiment  approaches  nearly  to  identity,  and  the  reflection 
from  each  to  the  other  is  direct  and  intense,  the  effect  upon  the 
moral  and  religious  interests  of  the  nation,  as  distinguished  from 
the  civil,  is  great,  and  greatly  to  be  deplored.  What  men,  in  this 
case,  approve  and  feel  as  citizens,  they  must  approve  and  feel  as 
souls.  But  the  solemn  truth  is,  that  the  religious  interests  of  the 
country  are  inseparable  from  the  social  and  the  civil.  Christianity 

—  not  any  particular  form  of  its  expression,  but  the  religion  of 
Christ,  as  exemplified  in  the  lives  of  Himself  and  Apostles  —  is 
rooted  beneath  our  platforms  of  government,  and  ramified  through- 
out our  civil  and  social  institutions  so  widely  and  so  strongty  that 
the  one  cannot  be  plucked  up  without  ruining  the  other.     And  this 
intimate  association  is  acknowledged  in  our  laws  :  we  witness  the 
confession  of  it  every  Lord's  Day  ;  in  every  court  of  justice  where 
an  oath  is  administered,  there  is  a  recognition  of  Christianity ;  in 
every  marriage  that  is  solemnized  ;  in  the  whole  circle  of  statu- 
tory arrangements,  by  which  right  is  distinguished  from  wrong, 
and  the  relations  of  society  defined  and  guarded,  —  the  religion  of 
Christ  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole.     Out  of  it  the  whole  sj'stem 
has  been  evolved :  and  if  you  take  away  that  basis,  there  would 
be  nothing  left  to  sustain  the  edifice  ;   it  would  sink  into   utter 
ruin,  and  there  would  be  no  rule  or  measure  by  which  to  recon- 
struct it  in  its  beautiful  and  harmonious  proportions,  or  in  any 
form,   whether  safe  or  insecure,   until  some   religion   should   be 
adopted  to  supply  the  foundation  and  the  model,  and  to  impart 
spirit  and  the  inner  life  to  the  body  new  formed  and  fashioned. 

1  Job  xxxi.  22. 


346  Appendix. 

Be}Tond  all  this,  there  is  yet  another  aspect  in  which  our  social 
welfare  is  seen  to  be  inseparably  intertwined  with  Christianity. 
The  God  whom  we  acknowledge,  and  whom  we  profess  to  worship 
and  adore,  is  the  Sovereign  disposer  of  nations  as  well  as  of 
souls.  If  we  den}T  him  as  a  people,  He  will  deny  us  in  His 
providence.  If  we  dishonor  Him,  He  will  visit  national  sin  with 
national  retribution,  as  the  whole  histor}-  of  the  world  demon- 
strates ;  and  in  our  country,  more  especially,  national  sin  is  nat- 
urally and  indissolubly  connected  with  its  appropriate  curse.  In 
short,  if  social  and  civil  relations  are  naturally  binding  among 
men,  we  stand  before  the  eye  of  God's  providence,  and  virtually 
before  the  bar  of  His  judgment,  as  a  society  and  as  a  nation.  We 
have,  therefore,  need,  and  it  is  our  bounden  duty,  to  acknowledge 
Him  as  the  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  universe  ;  to  obey  His  laws,  and 
maintain  the  institutions  which  He  has  established,  of  obligation, 
as  universal,  as  the  largess  of  a  Providence,  which,  with  open 
hand,  fills  all  things  living  with  plenteousness.  Whose  liberties, 
I  pra}r  you,  would  thereby  be  endangered  or  restricted?  Whose 
sense  of  propriety  can  thereby  be  offended  ?  Who  would  not,  as 
a  citizen  and  as  a  patriot,  wish  that  the  Lord's  house  were  more 
generally  attended,  and  His  clay  more  piously  sanctified,  and  His 
ordinances  more  religiously  observed,  and  His  ministers  more 
commonly  encouraged,  until  in  every  place  we  might  see  piety  the 
elm  of  every  vine,  the  supporter  of  every  virtue,  the  ornament  of 
every  profession ;  learning  graced  with  piety,  law  administered 
with  piety,  politics  purified  by  piety,  agriculture  pursued  with 
piety,  and  trade  regulated  by  piet}r?  Who  does  not  know  and  feel, 
that,  while  religion  would  thus  flourish,  peace  would  prevail  where 
discord  now  raves  ;  harmony  rule  where  disorder  now  confounds  ; 
charity  smile  where  hatred  now  scowls ;  the  hearts  of  men  be 
united  in  purposes  of  mutual  benefit,  and  ever}'  human  vocation 
prosper,  and  this  nation  continue  more  than  it  has  been  —  more, 
alas  !  I  fear,  than  it  is  likel\T  to  be  —  the  mirror  of  prosperity  and 
picture  of  happiness,  in  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  world ! 

May  we  never  forget,  brethren  beloved,  and  "partakers  of  the 
heaven^  calling,"  that  by  pious  men  this  nation  was  founded,  by 
pious  men  defended,  and  by  them  rescued  from  the  iron  grasp  of 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  347 

tyranny.     Infidelity  cannot  show  that  religion  has  ever  injured  our 
country.     On  the  contrary,  it  had  so  exhibited  its  worth  in  the 
perilous  times  of  our  early  history,  that  when  we  emerged  from 
the  storms  and   darkness  of  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  it  was 
fairly  to  be  presumed  that  its  value  would  never  after  be  called  in 
question.     It  had  commended  itself  to  our  sires,  in  times  which 
tried  the  souls  of  good  and  brave  men  ;  in  the  solemn  deliberations 
of  the  council-chamber,  when  each  Senator  felt  that  by  his  vote  he 
might  be  preparing  a  halter  for  his  neck;    and  in  the  desperate 
onslaughts  of  the  battle-field,  and  the  wild  hurrah   of  charging 
squadrons.      It  is  not  presumptuous  or  boastful  to  say  that  we 
inherit  a  land  watered  by  the  tears,  consecrated  by  the  prayers, 
and  made  sacred  by  the  blood,  of  pious  and  brave  men.     And  if 
that  dreaded  day  shall  ever  come,  when  this  mighty  Republic,  that 
now  rises  like  a  globe  of  light  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  of  mis- 
rule on  earth  and  amid  the  desolations  of  time,  shall  be  torn  to 
pieces  by  the  parricidal  hands  of  those  to  whom  its  destinies  are 
now  intrusted,  and  some  Caesar  or  Napoleon  shall  gather  together 
its  scattered  fragments,  and  sway  the  sceptre  of  despotic  power 
over  this  wide  and  rich  domain  ;  when  brother  shall  meet  brother  in 
mortal  strife,  and  the  thunder  of  battle  shall  reverberate  from  our 
hills,  and  roll  along  our  now  peaceful  and  quiet  vales,  —  it  will  be 
after  the  national  sense  of  the  value  of  religion  and  its  obligations 
has  decayed,  and  neglect  of  its  worship  and  a  sensualizing  ambi- 
tion shall  have  crushed  out  ever}"  manly  virtue,  and  introduced  in 
their  stead  licentiousness  among  our  rulers,  and  a  consequent  and 
general  corruption  of  manners  among  the  people.     Then  we  shall 
have  reached  the  consummation  for  which  tyrants  in  the  Old  World 
and  demagogues  in  the  New  have  long  hopefully  looked,  and  which 
the  enemies  of   rational  liberty  throughout  the  earth  have  pre- 
dicted ;  but  we  shall  not  then  have  witnessed  the  consequences 
most  interesting  or  concerning  to  ourselves.     But  I  forbear,  and 
would  rather  draw  a  veil,  if  I  might,  over  the  vision  which  fancy 
presents  to  contemplation,  when  that  day  of  darkness  shall  over- 
shadow this  fair  land,  and,  in  the  prophetic  language,  be  "like 
the   morning   spread   upon   the   mountains."      Imagination    now 
pictures   millions   upon  millions   of  habitations   in  cities,  towns, 


348  Appendix. 

villages,  and   neighborhoods   dotting  the  whole  land,  and  there 
are  happy  inmates  in  them  all.     From  thousands  upon  thousands 
arises  every  morning  and  evening  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise, 
of  thanksgiving  and  melody.     And  every  Sunday  there  are  myri- 
ads upon  myriads  gathered  in  the  sanctuaries  where  Jehovah  has 
put  His  name,  and  where  He  has  promised  to  accept  the  offerings 
of  spiritual  sacrifice  from  His  people.     And  all  over  the  whole 
land,  through  the  week,  is  heard  the  hum  of  industry  plying  its 
tasks ;  the  sound  of  the  workman's  hammer  rings  from  the  shop, 
and  the  stroke  of  the  woodman's  axe  awakes  the  echoes  of  the 
forest.     Nightfall  collects  millions  of  children  around  the  hearth- 
stones where  frugal  mothers  are  providing,  with  grateful  care  and 
happy  smiles,  comforts  and  refreshments  for  their  respective  house- 
holds ;  and  the  morning  sun  shines  upon  numberless  lines  of  those 
same  children  plodding  their  joyful  way,  and  converging  from  sur- 
rounding neighborhoods  to  the  humble  school- house,  where  mas- 
ters, clothed  with  competent  authority,  bear  rule  and  teach  their 
pupils  to  fear  God,  honor  their  parents,   learn  their  duties,  and 
revere  the  memory  of  Washington.     Commerce  is  busy,  trade  is 
active,  manufactures  yield  their  stores,  and  agriculture  her  varied 
products.     In  the  midst  of  all  this  contentment,  present  prosper- 
ity, positive  enjoyment,  and  prospective  happiness,  the  cry,  like  a 
death-knell,  rings  through  all  our  borders,  tk  The   Union  is  dis- 
solved! and  the  sun  of  our  glory  has  gone  down!  "     Ruin,  with  its 
wild  shriek  of  despair,  spreads  its  dark  wings  over  all  the  land, 
and  foreshadows  the  "  desolation  that  cometh  like  a  whirlwind." 
Every  face  gathers  blackness,  every  bosom  heaves  a  sigh,  and 
every  63*6  drops  a  tear !     Well  may  we  then,  if  not  now,  take  up 
the  lament  of  Christ  over  Jerusalem,  and  say,  "O  my  country! 
If  thou   hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least   in  this  thy  day,  the 
things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace !  but  now  they  are  hid  from 
thine  eyes." 

PRAYER. 

"O  most  Mighty  God!  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords, 
without  whose  care  the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vain,  we  implore, 
in  this  our  time  of  need,  Thy  succor  and  blessing  in  behalf  of 


Addresses  and  Sermons.  349 

our  rulers  and  magistrates,  and  of  all  the  people  of  this  land. 
Remember  not  our  many  and  great  transgressions  ;  turn  from  us 
the  judgments  which  we  feel ;  and  give  us  wisdom  to  discern,  and 
courage  to  attempt,  and  faithfulness  to  do,  and  patience  to  endure, 
whatsoever  shall  be  well-pleasing  in  Thy  sight ;  so  that  Thy  chas- 
tenings  may  yield  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness,  and  that 
at  last  we  may  rejoice  in  Thy  salvation,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.  Amen." 


350  Appendix. 


A  LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  COXE. 


KATONAH,  WESTCHESTEB  COUNTY,  N.Y., 
Oct.  5,  1885. 

MY  BELOVED  AND  VENERATED  FATHER  IN  CHRIST,  —  While  yet 
a  layman,  I  was  visiting  Bishop  Whittingham  in  Baltimore,  when 
Bishop  Otey  was  announced.  The  expressions  with  which  my 
revered  instructor  in  theology  received  the  announcement  were 
those  of  strongly  emphasized  respect ;  and  he  welcomed  the  Bishop 
of  Tennessee  into  the  study,  where  we  were  sitting,  with  marked 
cordiality.  I  soon  left  the  two  prelates  to  their  communings  ;  but 
on  meeting  Bishop  Whittingham  at  his  table,  in  the  evening,  he 
referred  to  the  conversation  he  had  held  with  the  Bishop,  and 
remarked,  "  Such  a  man  is  valuable  in  the  councils  of  the  Church, 
and  I  have  persuaded  him  that  he  must  not  be  absent  from" — 
I  forget  what ;  an  important  meeting  that  was  expected,  and  which 
Bishop  Otey  had  felt  unable  to  attend.  This  was  my  first  intro- 
duction to  this  excellent  disciple  of  RaA^enscroft,  to  whom,  in 
some  important  particulars,  Bishop  Whittingham  seemed  to  think 
him  not  inferior. 

I  doubt  whether  I  ever  met  him,  after  that,  save  in  public 
assemblies,  until  1851.  This  is  the  moment  in  his  history  which 
you  kindly  permit  me  to  illustrate  in  your  biographj7  of  the  good 
man,  —  a  duty  for  which  I  am  not  wholly  unprepared,  as  I  have 
a  diary  of  that  year,  in  which  there  are  frequent  references  to  him, 
as  I  met  with  him  in  Europe. 

Thus,  May  17,  I  called  on  him  at  "  The  Mitre  "  in  Oxford,  and 
was  shocked  to  observe  his  apparently  very  poor  state  of  health. 
He  confessed  that  nothing  else  bad  tempted  him  to  England  but 
a  hope  that  a  change  of  air  might  prove  beneficial ;  of  which, 
nevertheless,  he  seemed  to  have  no  great  confidence.  He  was 
despondent,  and  told  me  of  an  affliction  that  had  befallen  him, 
which  led  him  to  feel  no  great  disposition  to  live  longer,  unless 


Letter  from  Bishop  Cooce.  351 

such  should  prove  the  will  of  God.  I  promised  to  see  him  as 
frequently  as  possible,  and  he  was  even  earnest  in  pressing  me  to 
do  so.  He  magnified  the  ties  of  country,  but  especial^  of  the 
Church's  communion,  and  seemed  to  take  comfort  in  meeting  a 
younger  brother  from  his  own  land  and  of  the  Church  he  loved  so 
well. 

On  the  following  Sunday,  May  18,  which  was  the  fourth  after 
Easter,  Archdeacon  Wilberforce  was  to  preach  at  St.  Mary's,  and 
I  waited  on  the  Bishop  at  "The  Mitre,"  to  be  his  escort  and 
gwasi-chaplain  for  the  day.  He  seemed  better,  and  I  congratu- 
lated him  on  what  Dr.  Johnson  might  call  the  sound  orthodoxy  of 
his  inn;  "The  Mitre"  at  Oxford,  taking  rank  above  even  the 
doctor's  favourite  "  Mitre  "  in  the  Strand.  I  was  glad  to  find  the 
Bishop  treated  with  great  respect  at  the  church,  and  placed  in  a 
dignified  seat  among  the  doctors ;  but  the  simplicity  and  meek- 
ness of  his  manner  seemed  to  me  almost  excessive.  Their  dis- 
position to  pay  him  honour  was  a  recognition  of  his  apostleship  and 
of  inter-communion  ;  and  I  felt  that  his  official  dignity  might  have 
been  permitted  to  overcome,  in  a  somewhat  greater  degree,  his 
extreme  humilit}r.  No  other  bishop  was  present,  and  certainly 
he  was  "the  greatest"  even  in  that  assembly;  but  he  felt  the 
grandeur  of  the  place  and  its  associations,  and  seemed  with  real 
greatness  to  make  himself  "less  than  the  least."  So  the  great 
Apostle  named  himself  Paulus.  In  the  evening  I  called  on  the 
Bishop  again,  and  was  glad  to  find  that  he  had  borne  without  ill 
effects  the  fatigues  of  the  day. 

Afterwards  I  called  on  Dr.  Pusey,  with  Bishop  Ote}^,  whose 
humility  and  deference  in  presence  of  that  great  scholar  were,  as 
before,  even  more  than  was  becoming,  considering  his  fatherly 
dignity  and  the  presumably  filial  spirit  of  the  other. 

The  next  morning  he  called  upon  me,  to  my  great  delight,  and 
took  me  with  him  to  "The  Mitre,"  where,  says  my  diary,  "we 
conferred  about  the  Bishop  of  Maryland."  I  don't  know  just 
what  this  means  ;  but  I  think  dear  Bishop  Whittingham,  just  then, 
was  in  one  of  his  many  crises  of  life,  his  "often  infirmities." 
The  same  day  I  accompanied  him  in  sight-seeing,  and  was  proud 
to  point  out  to  him  objects  of  interest  with  which  I  had  already 


352  Appendix. 

been  made  familiar.  The  record  of  the  day  ends  thus,  in  my 
diary :  "  So  I  waited  on  Bishop  Otey  to  his  hotel,  and  bade  him 
an  affectionate  good-night,  receiving  his  blessing  in  return." 

While  in  Oxford,  I  conducted  him  one  morning  to  a  spot,  just 
before  Baliol  College,  where  I  said  to  him,  "  Here  stands  the 
Bishop  of  Tennessee,  where  Ridley  and  Latimer  stood  before, 
and  lighted  the  candle  which  illuminates  the  world.  Here  those 
holy  martyrs  suffered,  that  we  might  truly  live."  He  bared  his 
head,  and  said  devoutly,  "I  bless  Almighty  God  for  their  testi- 
mony." I  said,  "  Amen."  This  incident  was  observed  by  pass- 
ers-by, who  seemed  to  understand  something  of  its  significance. 

On  the  15th  of  June  I  saw  him  again,  at  Westminster  Abbey. 
It  was  the  "  Jubilee  "  of  the  Ven.  S.P.G.,  and  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don (Blomfield)  preached.  The  Archbishop  (Sumner)  officiated 
at  the  altar,  attended  by  the  Bishops  of  St.  Asaph,  Argyle, 
Jamaica,  Tennessee,  and  others.  Bishop  Otey  looked  wretchedly  ; 
had  lost  rather  than  gained  strength  since  I  parted  with  him.  The 
next  day  there  was  a  great  meeting  in  behalf  of  the  Society,  at 
St.  Martin's  Hall,  Prince  Albert  presiding.  Bishop  Wilberforce 
was  the  chief  speaker ;  but  much  time  was  given  to  the  turgid 
utterances  of  Lord  John  Russell  and  others,  whose  official  digni- 
ties were  called  in  to  magnify  a  work  in  which  they  took  little 
active  interest,  though  willing  to  parade  themselves  under  the 
Queen's  consort.  The  3Toung  Duke  of  Argyle,  though  he  was  not 
one  of  the  speakers,  displayed  himself  offensively,  as  I  thought, 
seeing  he  was  no  friend  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and  there  sat 
the  meek  apostle  of  Tennessee,  amid  the  gilded  nobodies,  unnoticed, 
and  with  no  place  in  the  programme  of  the  day.  This  always  dis- 
pleased me  in  England,  —  to  see  the  greatest  merit  and  worth  so 
often  shoved  aside,  to  make  way  for  men  of  rank  having  no  other 
than  their  claims  from  Heralds'  College  to  take  any  precedence 
whatever.  Some  allusion  to  what  the  Society  had  done  in  America 
seemed  to  move  Bishop  Otey's  heart,  however ;  and  very  impul- 
sively he  whispered  to  one  of  the  great  men  who  sat  near  him. 
Then  a  considerable  amount  of  whispering  and  consultation  fol- 
lowed among  divers  personages,  and  I  saw  that  the  good  Bishop 
had  given  them  annoyance.  At  last  a  card  was  handed  to  Prince 


Letter  from  Bishop  Coxe.  353 

Albert,  which  he  examined,  and  sent  back  with  something  written 
on  it.  Bishop  Otey  had  not  reflected  upon  the  "  red-tape  system  " 
of  such  occasions  in  England.  He  had  proposed  a  volunteer 
speech;  and  like  "  Oliver  asking  for  more,"  in  Dickens's  story, 
great  was  the  consternation  he  had  stirred  up.  Such  volunteering 
was  quite  unusual ;  what  should  be  done  ?  I  afterwards  learned 
that  Prince  Albert  had  agreed  to  call  upon  the  Bishop  of  Tennes- 
see, "if  he  would  be  very  brief;  "  but  he  was  evidently  bored. 
Bishop  Otey  was  as  innocent  as  a  child  in  the  affair,  feeling  anx- 
ious to  express  American  gratitude  with  American  freedom,  for 
the  Society's  "  nursing  care;"  and  when  he  arose,  with  care- 
worn features  and  tall  gaunt  figure,  but  looking  like  an  Elijah  with 
his  flashing  eye  and  long  extended  arm,  there  was  a  profound 
sensation  in  the  assembly.  He  had  gratified  the  popular  feeling 
by  breaking  through  the  stupid  conventionalities  of  the  time  and 
place,  and  he  received  a  warm  greeting.  He  was  "  brief"  indeed, 
but  said  something  which  ought  to  have  been  said.  What  could 
be  more  "telling"  as  a  living  trophy  of  the  Society,  than  this 
Bishop  from  the  woods  of  Tennessee?  He  created  mirth,  however, 
by  the  words  with  which  he  concluded  his  invasion  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, somewhat  as  follows  :  "I  have  often  heard  the  words  of 
one  of  our  backwoodsmen  incorrectly  quoted  here  in  England  ;  let 
me  set  them  forth  correctly,  in  justice  to  my  countryman.  He  is 
always  credited  with  an  exhortation  to  all  Americans  to  go  ahead; 
but  what  he  really  said  had  a  higher  tone,  and  the  maxim  should 
never  be  quoted  except  as  he  gave  it ;  viz.,  Be  sure  you're  right  — 
then  go  ahead  ! ' '  The  Bishop  sat  down  amid  a  tumult  of  cheers 
accompanied  with  smiles.  Bishop  Wilberforce  afterwards  assured 
me  that  he  himself  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  Bishop's  emenda- 
tion, and  by  the  earnestness  with  which  he  uttered  the  prefatory 
phrase,  "  Be  sure  you're  right." 

I  am  unable  to  find  my  diary  kept  in  Scotland,  from  which  I 
might  make  some  extracts  not  unsuitable  for  your  purpose.  At 
Edinburgh  I  met  Bishop  Otey  again,  and  he  agreed  to  let  me 
shape  his  tour  for  him  through  the  "land  o'  cakes."  We  trav- 
elled together  to  Aberdeen,  to  pay  our  reverent  tribute  to  the 
source  of  Seabury's  consecration ;  and  there  we  met  Bishop 


354:  Appendix. 

Skinner,  son  or  grandson  of  one  of  his  consecrators,  who  showed 
us  no  little  kindness.  We  were  charmed  with  the  American  and 
primitive  simplicity  of  his  See-House  and  its  modest  but  dignified 
menage.  We  worshipped  in  the  Church  which  occupies  the  spot 
where  that  memorable  consecration  took  place,  and  met  one  aged 
person,  who,  as  a  boy,  remembered  the-  first  sermon  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bishop,  on  the  day  of  his  elevation  to  that  position,  at  Evening 
Prayer. 

Bidding  the  Bishop  good-night,  I  said  to  him  one  evening, 
u  To-morrow  morning  I  shall  take  a  dip  into  the  German  Ocean 
before  breakfast,  and  I  humbly  advise  your  lordship  to  keep  me 
company."  I  was  only  half  in  earnest  in  such  counsel,  and  was 
startled  when  he  answered,  "  Well,  then,  I  will  do  as  you  say." 
It  alarmed  me,  and  I  said,  "For  the  sake  of  Tennessee,  I  must 
reduce  my  advice  to  a  mere  suggestion  ;  I  dare  not  'commend  such 
heroic  practice  ;  it  might  be  to  kill  or  cure  :  and  you  must  give  it 
thought,  and  take  all  the  responsibility."  In  the  morning  he  was 
ready,  at  the  hour  appointed,  and  we  had  a  most  refreshing  bath 
in  the  wild  surf  coming  in  from  the  Baltic.  We  walked  back  to 
our  hotel,  and  he  cheered  me  by  confessing  to  a  genial  glow. 
From  that  day  he  grew  better,  and  frequently  he  said  to  me  that 
he  owed  his  recovery  to  his  bath  at  Aberdeen.  "  Not  the  first 
time,"  I  remarked,  "  that  our  Episcopate  has  been  recruited  from 
Aberdeenshire." 

We  had  a  romantic  tour  together  to  Inverness,  and  down 
through  the  Caledonian  Canal.  Great  was  his  delight,  as  we 
gazed  on  those  scenes  of  Jacobite  history,  which  recalled  Prince 
Charlie,  and  Scott's  bewitching  stories.  I  amused  him  with 
scraps  of  rhyme  and  anecdotes  which  I  remembered,  and  especially 
with  tales  of  the  '15  and  the  '45  :  — 

"  Cope  could  not  cope,  nor  Wade  wade  thro'  the  snow, 
Nor  Hawley  haul  his  cannon  to  the  foe." 

He  had  a  great  fancy  for  all  such  narratives,  and  I  was  amused 
to  find  his  Virginian  enthusiasm  constantly  cropping  out.  Over 
and  over  again,  he  assured  me  that  such  and  such  hills,  as  we 
descried  them,  reminded  him  of  the  "Peaks  of  Otter."  He 


Letter  from  Bishop  Coxe.  35  5 

greatly  amused  me  by  his  frequent  outbursts  of  patriotic  feeling. 
With  all  his  state  pride,  he  was  yet  an  enthusiastic  American,  and 
sometimes  felt  called  upon  to  assert  his  Republican  principles 
when  he  heard  them  assailed.  He  told  me  he  liked  our  American 
Church,  in  many  respects,  better  than  the  mother-church  in  Eng- 
land. He  said,  "  There  is  no  such  brotherhood  in  all  the  world 
as  exists  among  the  Clergy  of  our  own  Church.  If  a  man  is  a 
brother  clergyman,  it  is  a  bond  universally  felt  and  acknowledged, 
a  purer  and  holier  Masonry.'1 

We  went  to  Oban,  and  thence  made  an  excursion  to  lona,  and 
to  Fingal's  cave  in  Staffa.  He  seemed  to  feel,  as  Dr.  Johnson 
did,  all  the  sanctity  of  lona,  and  inspected  the  royal  graves,  the 
ruins  of  its  primitive  church,  and  especially  the  ancient  churchward 
cross,  with  deep  emotion.  When  I  mentioned  to  Black  wood  and 
old  "  Christopher  North,"  that  the  Bishop  of  Tennessee  was  in 
Edinboro' ,  both  were  greatly  interested  ;  and  Professor  Wilson 
said,  "  How  strange  it  sounds,  here  by  Holyrood  and  Arthur's 
Seat,  to  think  of  a  Christian  Bishop  from  the  wilds  of  America ! " 
It  seemed  yet  more  worthy  of  my  admiration,  to  see  him  on  this 
pilgrimage  to  lona,  the  seat  of  a  primitive  Christianitj'. 

But  I  never  saw  him  so  excited  as  when  we  entered  the  cave 
at  Staffa,  rowed  by  stout  fishermen,  and  accompanied  by  nearly 
a  dozen  of  other  tourists.  I  said,  "  It  is  a  natural  Church  amid 
the  waters."  He  caught  at  the  idea;  and,  as  we  stepped  upon  a 
ledge  of  rocks  that  served  for  a  chancel,  he  said,  with  a  command- 
ing air,  "  Let  us  sing  the  doxology,  Praise  God  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow."  And  so  we  did.  I  don't  know  who  started  it, 
but  those  walls  and  rocky  vaults  resounded  with  Ken's  sublime 
Gloria  Patri,  to  which  the  echoing  waves  seemed  to  respond 
Amen,  as  they  surged  into  the  cavern,  and  at  times  lashed  its 
walls.  The  floods  dapped  their  hands  indeed,  and  seemed  to 
worship  with  us.  I  wonder  if  such  worship  was  ever  offered  there 
before,  with  a  Bishop  and  a  Presbyter  to  make  it  liturgical  and 
catholic ! 

Our  journey  over  the  Breadalbane  estates  was  attended  with 
one  noticeable  incident.  We  were  seated  on  the  top  of  the  coach, 
and  stopped  at  a  coach-house  for  change  of  horses.  The  Edinboro' 


356  Appendix. 

coach  drove  up  at  the  same  moment,  and,  to  my  astonishment, 
down  leaped  my  venerated  friend,  springing  like  a  schoolboy 
to  the  ground  ;  and  in  a  moment  I  saw  him  grasping  the  hand 
of  a  traveller  from  the  other  coach,  whom  I  inferred  to  be  an  Amer- 
ican and  an  old  familiar  friend.  The  two  spent  a  few  minutes 
in  very  close  conversation;  and  when  the  Bishop  resumed  his 
seat,  he  said,  "  That's  the  eminent  Dr.  Breckenridge  of  Ken- 
tucky." —  " Ah  !  "  said  I,  "how  happy  he  must  feel  to  find  himself 
among  his  fellow  disciples  of  John  Knox  !  " — "By  no  means," 
was  the  answer;  "he  was  telling  me  how  much  he  preferred  the 
Presbj'terians  of  Kentucky  :  he  says  they  all  drink  toddy  here,  and 
he  never  saw  so  much  whiskey  before  among  Christians." 

In  Argyleshire  we  made  one  excursion  on  foot.  How  well  I 
remember  the  glorious  sunset  over  the  sea,  amid  those  superb 
highlands,  as  we  approached  the  inn  at  Ballachulish  !  A  memorable 
evening  we  spent  together  there.  We  alwa^ys  began  and  closed 
our  days  together,  with  pra}*ers,  remembering  our  beloved  ones 
beyond  the  Atlantic,  and  the  dear  Church  of  which  we  were  ser- 
vants as  well  as  sons,  and  in  which  I  revered  him  as  a  father. 
Often,  as  we  climbed  the  mountains  in  Switzerland,  he  recalled 
the  scenes  near  Loch-Leven,  and  the  night  at  Ballachulish.  At  the 
44  Pap  of  Coe  "  we  rehearsed  the  story  of  King  William's  massa- 
cre, and  spoke  as  Churchmen  must  of  the  bloody  Prince  of  Orange 
and  of  his  cruel  vengeance  on  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

It  was  several  weeks  later  that  I  overtook  the  Bishop  on  the 
Rhine,  and  we  began  again  to  be  fellow-tourists.  He  was  greatly 
improved,  felt  ready  for  walking,  and  found  it  healthful  exertion. 
Often  we  mounted  mules,  and  so  travelled  by  night  as  well  as  day. 
He  climbed  the  Rigi  with  me,  on  foot,  delighted  with  his  alpen- 
stock, and  showing  a  power  of  endurance  which  greatly  surprised  me. 
Oh  the  rapture  of  the  view  from,  the  Rigi  Kulm,  that  rewarded 
our  efforts  !  We  saw  the  sunset  over  the  Lake  of  the  Four  Can- 
tons, and  watched  the  last  flames  of  sunlight  that  tipped  the  snowy 
peaks  of  the  Oberland.  One  after  another  the  lights  gave  way 
to  the  shades  of  evening,  and  the  purple  alone  remained  where 
gold  and  opal  tints  had  glorified  the  horizon  only  a  few  minutes 
before. 


Letter  from  Bishop  Coxe.  357 

He  excited  my  laughter  as  he  recounted  his  experiences  at 
Cologne,  where  he  went  to  see  the  remains  of  St.  Ursula  and  the 
thousand  virgins  (some  say,  ten  thousand)  whose  bones  are  en- 
cased in  the  walls.  u  Did  the  priest  show  you  the  veil  of  the 
Virgin,"  said  I,  "  and  the  water- pots  of  Cana?  "  — "  Yes,"  said  he 
indignantly,  "and  I  rebuked  him  for  his  impudence.  My  valet- 
de-place  was  obliged  to  translate  for  me,  but  I  demanded  of  him, 
*  On  what  evidence  do  you  assert  this?  '  "  It  took  some  time  for 
the  valet  to  explain  that  the  .gentleman  was  an  American,  and 
asked  for  the  proofs  of  such  stories.  When  the  priest  gained  at 
last  some  faint  conception  of  our  American  ideas  of  evidence,  he 
was  much  disgusted,  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  held  out  the  veil 
and  pointed  at  the  water-pots,  as  much  as  to  say,  "Why,  here  they 
are!  What  evidence  do  you  need  when  you  see  them  for  your- 
self? can't  you  trust  your  own  eyes?"  The  tall  figure  of  my 
sage  friend,  his  index-finger  outstretched  and  pointing,  as  he  asked 
for  the  evidence,  presented  to  my  mind  such  a  ludicrous  contrast 
with  that  of  the  besotted  priest  whom  I  had  encountered  in  like 
manner  a  few  days  before,  that  I  laughed  outright  as  the  Bishop 
gave  the  account ;  and  it  makes  me  laugh  again  as  I  recall  it.  So 
utterly  incongruous  are  the  mental  habits  of  weak  credulity  and  of 
enlightened  faith ! 

My  friend's  vigour  seemed  to  increase  ;  his  enthusiasm  rose  daily, 
higher  and  higher,  among  those  glorious  Alps.  For  hours,  under 
a  bright  starlight,  we  rode  our  mules  over  the  Kaiserstuhl,  from 
Sarnen,  on  our  way  to  the  Lakes  of  Interlachen.  We  went  to  the 
Grindelwald  together,  and  to  the  Staubbach  ;  but  a  terrible  rain  de- 
feated our  purpose  to  cross  the  Wengern  in  company.  We  retreated 
to  Thun,  and  thence  to  Berne  and  Freyburg,  spending  the  Lord's 
Day  at  the  latter  place,  where  we  read  the  entire  Morning  Service 
together,  after  listening  to  that  marvellous  organ  at  the  cathedral. 
Nothing  seemed  to  fatigue  him.  He  travelled  with  me  all  night 
to  Lausanne  in  a  sort  of  post-chaise  which  we  had  all  to  ourselves, 
and  so  we  came  to  Chillon  and  the  Lake  of  Geneva.  He  knew 
much  of  Byron's  poem  by  heart,  and  recited,  with  profound  feel- 
ing, several  of  those  lines  on  Bonnivard,  dwelling  especially  on  the 
expression,  u  for  they  appeal  from  tyranny  to  God."  At  Geneva, 


358  Appendix. 

he  found  friends  at  one  of  the  hotels  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhone ;  but  I  crossed  to  the  Hotel  des  Bergues,  whence  I  could 
gaze  on  Mont  Blanc  from  my  chamber  windows.  Happily  I  did  so  ; 
for  there  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  arrived  the  same  evening,  and  gave 
me  immediate  notice  that  I  was  his  fellow-lodger.  When  I  told  him 
that  Bishop  Otey  was  also  in  Geneva,  and  very  greatly  improved 
in  health,  he  rejoiced  with  me,  and  soon  called  on  him  and  had 
important  conversations  with  him  on  church-matters.  When  we 
parted,  I  accompanied  Wilberforce  on  the  Leman  Lake  and  as  far 
as  Martigny,  where  he  went  into  Italy,  and  I  made  an  episode  into 
Chamounix.  But  the  dear  and  truly  great  Bishop  of  Oxford  often 
referred  to  Bishop  Otey,  and  gave  me  his  impressions  of  his  char- 
acter, which  were  very  just.  He  recognized  his  warm  and  gener- 
ous affections,  his  fidelity  to  the  Church,  his  missionary  spirit,  his 
Apostolic  earnestness,  and,  with  all,  his  child-like  simplicity  and 
unworldliness,  his  real  dignity  and  elevation  of  spirit. 

Bishop  Otey  was  persuaded,  by  the  friends  he  had  met  in 
Geneva,  to  retrace  his  steps  and  revisit  the  Oberland.  When  we 
afterwards  met  in  our  dear  native  country  again,  he  said,  "  I 
have  the  advantage  of  you,  for  I  made  that  passage  of  the  Weng- 
ern,  after  all ;  saw  the  avalanches,  and  came  down  to  the  Lut- 
schine  again,  sorry  to  think  how  much  my  friend,  Cleveland  Coxe, 
had  missed  by  going  into  Italy  in  such  hot  haste  to  see  Rome  and 
the  Pope."  So  he  triumphed  over  me,  but  salved  it  all,  as  he 
quoted  his  favourite  Horace  :  — 

"Nil  ego  contulerim  jucundo  sanus  amico." 

When  I  recur  to  those  happy  days  with  so  good  a  man,  and  feel 
how  many  blessed  influences  came  to  me,  in  my  travels,  from  his 
pure  and  paternal  sympathy,  I  am  thankful  to  God  that  I  met  him, 
and  gained  from  him  so  many  ideas,  useful  to  me  now  in  that  com- 
mon episcopate  which  he  adorned  by  his  holy  example.  When  he 
fell  asleep,  I  rejoiced  that  he  had  found  the  blessed  repose  for 
which  I  had  so  often  heard  him  sigh  ;  but  I  felt  how  great  was  my 
loss,  and  how  valuable  a  man  had  been  taken  from  the  Church's 
councils  and  from  her  missionary  work.  May  his  Diocese  never 
forget  her  first  Bishop,  nor  those  principles  of  the  great  and  good 


Letter  from  Bishop  Coxe.  359 

Bishop  Ravenscroft,  which  he  transplanted  to  the  fair  and  well- 
watered  soil  of  his  beloved  Tennessee. 

Thus,  my  venerated  friend,  I  have  thrown  off,  at  your  request, 
in  a  manner  too  much  marred  by  unavoidable  hurry,  a  few  recol- 
lections of  one  who  never  referred  to  you  without  expressions 
of  love  and  respect,  such  as,  from  one's  own  brother,  might  be 
regarded  as  indicative  of  something  deeper  than  even  brotherly 
affection.  Let  me  remain  ever 

Yours  in  Christ  and  His  Church, 

A.   CLEVELAND  COXE, 

Bishop  of  Western  New  York. 

To  THE  RIGHT  REVEKEND, 

THE  BISHOP  OF  MISSISSIPPI,  ETC.,  ETC.,  ETC., 
Sewanee,  Tenn. 


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